A quick note: my name is Mike Romero, and I'm a Historic Interpreter at Colonial Williamsburg. The postings I make on this site are my own personal opinions and research, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Colonial Williamsburg. With that said, enjoy the read!
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Most anyone who has read the historic fiction of C.S. Forester, Patrick O'Brian, and the others of their ilk can likely relate at least a half dozen amusing anecdotes of life at sea. From Wellington's sister interrupting the captain's morning walk on the quarterdeck, to two castaways being rescued by a tribe of rebellious Polynesian women, these random occurrences somehow make the stories seem more real. Imagine my surprise and delight when I came across multiple instances of these random "plot twists" in a real narrative from the early United States Navy.
In July 2016, I was fortunate to travel to the USS Constitution Museum in Boston on a research trip funded by Colonial Williamsburg. Part of my time there was spent at the Samuel Eliot Morison Memorial Library, where Matthew Brenckle allowed me to examine the letterbook of Pardon Mawney Whipple, a young officer in the USN. In addition to time aboard Constitution, Whipple serves aboard USS Washington (one of America's first ships-of-the-line), USS Spark, and USS Colombus throughout his career and rises to the rank of lieutenant in 1820.
Whipple's first sea duty begins as a midshipman aboard Constitution in 1813, while the frigate is being repaired following her engagement with HMS Java. Many of Whipple's letters are written to a female identified only as "My Dear Friend," the first of which begins with Whipple's pride at securing a berth aboard Constitution, and his eagerness to "join the worthy sons of Neptune to share in a perilous war on his wide domain," and adds, "Should I be so fortunate as to prove serviceable to my country I shall be in the zenith of my glory."
One of my favorite letters from the collection (a full transcript is available from the museum website, see the link in my source list below) details Constitution's cruise in early 1815, her last before the War of 1812 ended. Ever since Napoleon had abdicated and been exiled to Elba (though we would soon discover this was not a permanent arrangement) in the spring of 1814, the military might of Great Britain had been turned on the United States quite effectively. The Royal Navy had attempted to blockade American ports since the beginning of the war, and with additional resources freed from European campaigns, these blockades grew even tighter.
However, it seems this proved only a minor impediment to Constitution. Midshipman Whipple writes, "We left Boston under circumstances very similar to our former cruise, both times we run out in the night & eluded the enemy who were blockading us – our first prize was made about a week out – her name being the Lord Nelson seemed ominous among the sailors, who said that if we captured a Lord so soon, our cruise would be successful --" It may not be whistling to encourage the wind, but it makes for some good luck nonetheless.
"We next made a capture on the coast of Portugal which we man’d & sent in & have now just reaped the golden fruit, which is much the sweetest part of Warfare, unfortunately however not without the ruin of a fellow being, who was a jolly scotchman, & got most gloriously drunk the night after the capture & consoled himself with the common remark that it was the fortune of war – on board of this vessel we found two fine young Tigers, which had been in some measure domesticated & were of great amusement to the Sailors." Early in the cruise, Constitution has taken two prizes (one of them a "peer"), partied with a Scot merchant skipper, and taken in some new mascots. Whipple's letter will soon take a more serious turn.
On February 20, 1815, Constitution is two hundred miles ENE of Madeira when she fell in with two British men-of-war, the 34-gun HMS Cyane and the 20-gun HMS Levant. The armament of both vessels consisted primarily of carronades, able to fire a combined broadside of 804 pounds, albeit at short range. Constitution at the time had a broadside weight of 704 pounds, more than half of which were the long 24-pound cannon that had served her so well earlier in the war. Midshipman Whipple includes sections of the log recorded by Captain Charles Stewart to "give you a better idea of the result of this discovery."
The British vessels were approximately ten miles apart when they were first sighted between 1:00 and 2:00 PM, and are able to join by 5:45. They form a line with Levant in the lead, and a separation of about 100 yards between them. Constitution draws up on Cyane's weather side at a distance of three hundred yards around 6:00 PM. Five minutes later, the action begins and continues for about fifteen minutes. As the British fire slackens, Stewart holds fire to allow the smoke to lift; he finds that Constitution is now abreast of Levant with the Cyane astern and trying for his port quarter. Constitution fires her port battery on Levant, then took after sails aback to renew fire against Cyane. After another ten minutes, the British fire slackens again, and Levant is seen bearing up before the wind. Stewart makes sail ahead and is able to rake Levant from astern twice with the port guns. Cyane is seen in the process of wearing, leading Constitution to immediately wear as well; the heavy frigate catches Cyane halfway through the maneuver and is able to rake her with the starboard battery. At 6:50, Cyane strikes, and Stewart hurriedly dispatches a prize crew before making sail after the fleeing Levant. By 8:30, Levant is met returning to the conflict. Around 8:50, the two ships exchange broadsides on opposite tacks, at which point Constitution is able to come under Levant's stern and rakes her again. No match for Constitution on her own, Levant attempts to flee again, only to be overtaken and compelled to surrender by 10:00 PM.
As reported by Captain Stewart, Constitution suffers three killed and twelve wounded, Cyane suffers twelve killed and twenty-six wounded, and Levant suffers twenty-three killed and sixteen wounded. In his log and report, Captain Stewart alludes to the British holding an advantage of slightly superior combined weight of metal carried by a divided force, but Alfred Thayer Mahan finds himself unable to recognize what this advantage actually was. He does however describe Stewart's management of the Constitution in action as "strikingly clever and prompt."
Following the battle, Midshipman Whipple is put in charge of one of the boats ferrying prisoners from the captured ships. The young man who once looked forward to being at the zenith of his glory has this to say of the battle's aftermath, "Their spars & rigging were very much cut to pieces, particularly the Levant, whose mizenmast & all the appendant spars were wounded or carried away –several shots between wind & water; this being the first action I was ever in, you can imagine to yourself what were my feelings to hear the horrid groans of the wounded & dying, & the scene that presented itself the next morning at daylight on board of the Levant, the quarter deck seemed to have the appearance of a slaughter house, the wheel having been carried away by a shot – killed & wounded all around it, the mizenmast for several feet was covered with brains & blood; pieces of bones, fingers, & large pieces of flesh were picked up from off the deck T’was a long time before I could familiarize myself to these & if possible more horrible scenes that I witnessed, In a few days we were enabled to get our prize in tolerable good repair under Lieut. Shubrick –"
"In consequence of the strict blockade of the whole of our coast," Whipple explains, "It was thought there would be too great risk to proceed directly for the United States however anxious we were to get our prizes into port, to our universal regret therefore, Captain Stewart concluded it would be more prudent to proceed to some of the neutral Islands & land the prisoners, at the expiration of which time, peace between the governments would probably take place, & we should by that means stand a good chance of saving our prizes, Fate ordered it otherwise, we steered for the Cape de Verds, where we arrived on 11th of March." The next day, a sizable British squadron consisting of the razees HMS Leander and New Castle along with the heavy frigate HMS Acasta is seen making for the port. Constitution and her charges attempt to flee, reasonably not eager to face a much heavier force with a pair of prizes stringing along behind.. Cyane goes unmolested, but Levant is recaptured under the guns of Port Praya. Whipple suggests this was a violation of Portuguese neutrality, and objects strenuously when the American ships are fired upon by the Portuguese attempting to return to port and land prisoners...he suggests the Portuguese feared that Constitution would break neutrality herself by attempting to take Levant a second time. Following this episode, Constitution and Cyane cruise to the coast of Brazil where they're finally able to land the majority of their prisoners.
Whipple concludes his letter with Constitution's crew learning of the end of the war, "St. Louis de Maranham = We here succeeded in landing our prisoners much to the satisfaction of all on board after remaining here about ten days, we took our departure for the U. States, touched at the port St. Johns Island of Porto Rico, where we got American papers, here we learnt to a certainty that the treaty of peace had been signed, the most unwelcome news that I ever received, here we first heard of the battle of New Orleans – we arrived in this port yesterday in high health & spirits I assure you, happy to tread once more on the shores of Freedom how shall I apologize to you for the length of this letter, the subject was of such a nature that it was impossible to curtail it therefore I shall send it without any alteration & run the risk of its meeting with your approbation."
Some of Whipple's other exploits in the line of duty include taking command of a cartel ship earlier in the war and facing a tense situation with British officials in Barbados, visiting a multitude of "curiosities" in Greece and Italy (including the ruins of Pompeii and the King's Garden at Naples), and cruising off Algiers not long after Commodore Stephen Decatur and Britain's Lord Exmouth would gather some of the final laurels of their careers. Even though he never rises to prominence himself (he leaves the service due to declining health in 1824 and dies three years later from tuberculosis), Pardon Mawney Whipple is but one of many everyday sailors who helped the United States Navy take its first steps onto the world stage.
Sources:
1. USS Constitution Museum. Pardon Mawney Whipple's Letterbook, https://ussconstitutionmuseum.org/collections/library-and-manuscript/logs-and-journals/whipples-letterbook/. (Transcribed 2014).
2. Mahan, Alfred Thayer. Sea Power in its Relations to the War of 1812, Volume 2. (Amazon Digital Services, 2011).
 |
| A page from Midshipman Whipple's letterbook detailing a cruise of USS Constitution in early 1815. (Samuel Eliot Morison Memorial Library - Boston, MA) |
In July 2016, I was fortunate to travel to the USS Constitution Museum in Boston on a research trip funded by Colonial Williamsburg. Part of my time there was spent at the Samuel Eliot Morison Memorial Library, where Matthew Brenckle allowed me to examine the letterbook of Pardon Mawney Whipple, a young officer in the USN. In addition to time aboard Constitution, Whipple serves aboard USS Washington (one of America's first ships-of-the-line), USS Spark, and USS Colombus throughout his career and rises to the rank of lieutenant in 1820.
Whipple's first sea duty begins as a midshipman aboard Constitution in 1813, while the frigate is being repaired following her engagement with HMS Java. Many of Whipple's letters are written to a female identified only as "My Dear Friend," the first of which begins with Whipple's pride at securing a berth aboard Constitution, and his eagerness to "join the worthy sons of Neptune to share in a perilous war on his wide domain," and adds, "Should I be so fortunate as to prove serviceable to my country I shall be in the zenith of my glory."
One of my favorite letters from the collection (a full transcript is available from the museum website, see the link in my source list below) details Constitution's cruise in early 1815, her last before the War of 1812 ended. Ever since Napoleon had abdicated and been exiled to Elba (though we would soon discover this was not a permanent arrangement) in the spring of 1814, the military might of Great Britain had been turned on the United States quite effectively. The Royal Navy had attempted to blockade American ports since the beginning of the war, and with additional resources freed from European campaigns, these blockades grew even tighter.
However, it seems this proved only a minor impediment to Constitution. Midshipman Whipple writes, "We left Boston under circumstances very similar to our former cruise, both times we run out in the night & eluded the enemy who were blockading us – our first prize was made about a week out – her name being the Lord Nelson seemed ominous among the sailors, who said that if we captured a Lord so soon, our cruise would be successful --" It may not be whistling to encourage the wind, but it makes for some good luck nonetheless.
On February 20, 1815, Constitution is two hundred miles ENE of Madeira when she fell in with two British men-of-war, the 34-gun HMS Cyane and the 20-gun HMS Levant. The armament of both vessels consisted primarily of carronades, able to fire a combined broadside of 804 pounds, albeit at short range. Constitution at the time had a broadside weight of 704 pounds, more than half of which were the long 24-pound cannon that had served her so well earlier in the war. Midshipman Whipple includes sections of the log recorded by Captain Charles Stewart to "give you a better idea of the result of this discovery."
The British vessels were approximately ten miles apart when they were first sighted between 1:00 and 2:00 PM, and are able to join by 5:45. They form a line with Levant in the lead, and a separation of about 100 yards between them. Constitution draws up on Cyane's weather side at a distance of three hundred yards around 6:00 PM. Five minutes later, the action begins and continues for about fifteen minutes. As the British fire slackens, Stewart holds fire to allow the smoke to lift; he finds that Constitution is now abreast of Levant with the Cyane astern and trying for his port quarter. Constitution fires her port battery on Levant, then took after sails aback to renew fire against Cyane. After another ten minutes, the British fire slackens again, and Levant is seen bearing up before the wind. Stewart makes sail ahead and is able to rake Levant from astern twice with the port guns. Cyane is seen in the process of wearing, leading Constitution to immediately wear as well; the heavy frigate catches Cyane halfway through the maneuver and is able to rake her with the starboard battery. At 6:50, Cyane strikes, and Stewart hurriedly dispatches a prize crew before making sail after the fleeing Levant. By 8:30, Levant is met returning to the conflict. Around 8:50, the two ships exchange broadsides on opposite tacks, at which point Constitution is able to come under Levant's stern and rakes her again. No match for Constitution on her own, Levant attempts to flee again, only to be overtaken and compelled to surrender by 10:00 PM.
As reported by Captain Stewart, Constitution suffers three killed and twelve wounded, Cyane suffers twelve killed and twenty-six wounded, and Levant suffers twenty-three killed and sixteen wounded. In his log and report, Captain Stewart alludes to the British holding an advantage of slightly superior combined weight of metal carried by a divided force, but Alfred Thayer Mahan finds himself unable to recognize what this advantage actually was. He does however describe Stewart's management of the Constitution in action as "strikingly clever and prompt."
Following the battle, Midshipman Whipple is put in charge of one of the boats ferrying prisoners from the captured ships. The young man who once looked forward to being at the zenith of his glory has this to say of the battle's aftermath, "Their spars & rigging were very much cut to pieces, particularly the Levant, whose mizenmast & all the appendant spars were wounded or carried away –several shots between wind & water; this being the first action I was ever in, you can imagine to yourself what were my feelings to hear the horrid groans of the wounded & dying, & the scene that presented itself the next morning at daylight on board of the Levant, the quarter deck seemed to have the appearance of a slaughter house, the wheel having been carried away by a shot – killed & wounded all around it, the mizenmast for several feet was covered with brains & blood; pieces of bones, fingers, & large pieces of flesh were picked up from off the deck T’was a long time before I could familiarize myself to these & if possible more horrible scenes that I witnessed, In a few days we were enabled to get our prize in tolerable good repair under Lieut. Shubrick –"
 |
| "Capture of H.M. Ships Cyane and Levant, by the U.S. Frigate Constitution," by Thomas Birch |
"In consequence of the strict blockade of the whole of our coast," Whipple explains, "It was thought there would be too great risk to proceed directly for the United States however anxious we were to get our prizes into port, to our universal regret therefore, Captain Stewart concluded it would be more prudent to proceed to some of the neutral Islands & land the prisoners, at the expiration of which time, peace between the governments would probably take place, & we should by that means stand a good chance of saving our prizes, Fate ordered it otherwise, we steered for the Cape de Verds, where we arrived on 11th of March." The next day, a sizable British squadron consisting of the razees HMS Leander and New Castle along with the heavy frigate HMS Acasta is seen making for the port. Constitution and her charges attempt to flee, reasonably not eager to face a much heavier force with a pair of prizes stringing along behind.. Cyane goes unmolested, but Levant is recaptured under the guns of Port Praya. Whipple suggests this was a violation of Portuguese neutrality, and objects strenuously when the American ships are fired upon by the Portuguese attempting to return to port and land prisoners...he suggests the Portuguese feared that Constitution would break neutrality herself by attempting to take Levant a second time. Following this episode, Constitution and Cyane cruise to the coast of Brazil where they're finally able to land the majority of their prisoners.
Whipple concludes his letter with Constitution's crew learning of the end of the war, "St. Louis de Maranham = We here succeeded in landing our prisoners much to the satisfaction of all on board after remaining here about ten days, we took our departure for the U. States, touched at the port St. Johns Island of Porto Rico, where we got American papers, here we learnt to a certainty that the treaty of peace had been signed, the most unwelcome news that I ever received, here we first heard of the battle of New Orleans – we arrived in this port yesterday in high health & spirits I assure you, happy to tread once more on the shores of Freedom how shall I apologize to you for the length of this letter, the subject was of such a nature that it was impossible to curtail it therefore I shall send it without any alteration & run the risk of its meeting with your approbation."
Some of Whipple's other exploits in the line of duty include taking command of a cartel ship earlier in the war and facing a tense situation with British officials in Barbados, visiting a multitude of "curiosities" in Greece and Italy (including the ruins of Pompeii and the King's Garden at Naples), and cruising off Algiers not long after Commodore Stephen Decatur and Britain's Lord Exmouth would gather some of the final laurels of their careers. Even though he never rises to prominence himself (he leaves the service due to declining health in 1824 and dies three years later from tuberculosis), Pardon Mawney Whipple is but one of many everyday sailors who helped the United States Navy take its first steps onto the world stage.
Sources:
1. USS Constitution Museum. Pardon Mawney Whipple's Letterbook, https://ussconstitutionmuseum.org/collections/library-and-manuscript/logs-and-journals/whipples-letterbook/. (Transcribed 2014).
2. Mahan, Alfred Thayer. Sea Power in its Relations to the War of 1812, Volume 2. (Amazon Digital Services, 2011).
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ReplyDeleteHi there, I run a website about the Aubrey/Maturin novels and the Age of Sail called The Dear Surprise. I'd love to post some of your articles with your permission! Full credit and links back of course. Please let me know :) I'll receive notifications about responses to this comment.
ReplyDeleteApologies for not seeing your comment before now, but feel free to share away!
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