The “Wasp” was only about one-sixth the size of the “Constitution.” She was about as big as the three-masted schooners4 which ply5 in and out of our Atlantic seaports6 to-day, and only carried one hundred and forty men. What she lacked in size she made up in personnel, and what she lacked in ordnance7 she made up in precision of fire. They must have been fine Jack8 tars9 and gallant10 fellows every one of them, for there was no chance for[107] skulkers in that fight. The vessel11 could not have been handled or the guns served as they were with one man less.
It was off Albemarle Sound, in the rough end of a Hatteras gale12, with a gun-platform which now rolled the gun-muzzles13 into the spume and then sent them skyward half-way to the zenith. It is a wonder that the gunners could hit anything at all; but almost every broadside told, and the hull14 of the “Frolic” was again and again riddled15 and raked fore16 and aft.
When the war broke out the “Wasp” was in European waters, carrying despatches for the government. She was immediately recalled, and in October, 1812, sailed from the Delaware to the southward and eastward17 to get in the track of the British merchantmen in the West India trade. On the 15th of October she ran into a gale of wind off the capes18 of the Chesapeake, and lost her jib-boom and two men who were working on it at the time. For two days and nights the little vessel tumbled about under storm-sails, but Captain Jacob Jones was one of the best seamen19 in the navy, and no further harm was done. On the night of the 17th the wind moderated somewhat, though the seas still ran high. At about half-past eleven a[108] number of frigates were seen, and Captain Jones deeming it imprudent to bear down nearer until day should show him who the strangers were, sailed up to get the weather-gage and await the dawn. His forward rigging was disabled, and he had no wish to take chances with an enemy of greatly superior force.
The dawn came up clear and cold, and, as the darkness lifted, the crew of the “Wasp” could make out six fine merchantmen under convoy20 of a big brig. The brig was about the same size as the “Wasp,” and it was seen that several of the merchantmen mounted from eleven to eighteen guns each. Nevertheless, Jones sent his topmen aloft, and in a trice he had his light yards on deck and his ship reefed down to fighting-canvas. The vessel was rolling her bows half under, but the guns were cast loose and the decks cleared for action. The brig, too, showed signs of animation21. Her men went aloft at about the same time as those of the “Wasp,” and soon she signalled her convoy to make all sail before the wind to escape.
The sea was so high that it was eleven o’clock before the vessels22 came within range of each other. Then on the English vessel the Spanish flag was run up to the gaff. But the[109] Americans nevertheless held on a course which would soon bring the ships together. There were enough Englishmen in those waters for Jones to take chances of her being one of the enemy. By half-past eleven the ships were within speaking-distance,—two or three hundred feet apart,—and Captain Jones mounted the mizzen-rigging, lifting his voice so that it might be heard above the shrieking23 of the wind and sea, and shouted through his trumpet,—
“What ship is that?”
For answer the Spanish flag came down with a run, the British ensign was hoisted24, and a broadside was fired. Just then a squall keeled the Englishman over to leeward25, and the “Wasp” having the weather-gage, the shots whistled harmlessly overhead and through the rigging. The Yankee ship responded immediately. The gunners had been trained in all weathers to fire as their own vessel was about to roll downward on the wave towards their adversary26. By this means the shots were more sure to go low in the enemy’s hull and to have the additional chance of the ricochet which would strike a glancing blow. They waited a second or so for this opportunity, and then sent their broadside of nine shots crashing through the hull of the “Frolic.”
The tumbling of the vessel sent the guns rolling about, and the tacklemen needed all their strength and skill to hold the guns in for serving and out for firing. But they were in no hurry. They worked as slowly and as surely as possible, taking every advantage of the roll of the vessel, training and aiming deliberately27, and then firing at will. The Englishmen sent in three broadsides to two of the Yankees. But they fired from the hollow on the upward roll of the vessel and most of their shots went high, scarcely one of them striking the hull of the “Wasp.”
It is a wonderful thing to think even of these two little vessels, tossed about like billets of wood, the playthings of the elements, fighting a battle to the death with each other, ignoring the roaring of the sea and the hissing28 of the water which now and again seemed to completely engulf29 them in its foam30. The waves came over the bows and waist of the “Wasp,” flooding the decks, overturning buckets and making division-tubs a superfluity. Sometimes it dashed in at the leeward ports, dipping the handles of the sponges and rammers, and even burying the muzzles of the guns, which the next moment would be pointing at the main-truck of their adversary. The powder-boys, wet to the waist, stumbled over the decks[111] with their powder-charges under their jackets, and, though buffeted31 about and knocked down repeatedly, kept the men at the guns plentifully32 supplied with ammunition33.
Although the British were firing rapidly and the shots were flying high, they began doing great damage in the rigging of the American. A few minutes after the battle was begun a shot from the “Frolic” struck the maintop-mast of the “Wasp” just above the cap, and it fell forward across the fore-braces, rendering35 the head-yards unmanageable for the rest of the action. A few minutes later other shots struck the mizzen-top-gallant-mast and the gaff, and soon almost every brace34 was shot away. The “Frolic” had been hulled36 repeatedly, but aloft had only lost her gaff and head-braces. In a quiet sea it would have been bad enough to lose the use of the sails, but in a gale of wind man?uvring became practically impossible. The wind was blowing fiercely so both vessels drove on before it, keeping up the cannonading whenever a gun would bear, and pouring in from the tops a fire of musketry upon the officers and men upon the decks.
The “Wasp,” having squared forward by the dropping of her maintop-mast across the fore-braces, no longer sailed on the wind, and[112] in a moment drew forward, gradually approaching across the bows of the “Frolic,” which, having lost the use of her head-sails, could not sheer off. Captain Jones was quick to see his advantage, and ran the enemy’s bowsprit between the main- and mizzen-masts of the “Wasp.” The vessels now began striking and grinding against each other furiously, as though by a test of the stanchness of their timbers to settle the battle between them. The men who were loading two of the port broadside guns of the “Wasp” struck the bow of the “Frolic” with their rammers and found themselves looking into the forward ports of the enemy. The guns were loaded with grape, and after the ships crashed together were fired directly through those forward ports of the “Frolic,” raking her from stem to stern in a frightful37 manner.
The next wave tore the ships apart, and the “Wasp” forged ahead, the bowsprit of the Englishman catching38 in the mizzen-shrouds, where Lieutenant39 James Biddle and a party of officers and seamen were awaiting the order to board. In this position the bowsprit of the “Frolic” was pounding terribly upon the poop of the “Wasp.” At every send of the waves the bows of the Englishman would fall as the stern of the American rose, and it seemed as[113] though both ships would be torn to pieces. The men of the “Wasp” had wished to board, the moment the ships had come together, and crowded along the hammock-nettings hardly to be restrained. But Captain Jones, knowing the advantage of his raking position, wanted to send in another broadside. He called the men back to the guns, but they were too intent upon their object. One brawny40 fellow, named Jack Lang, who had been impressed into the British service, made a spring, and catching a piece of gear, swung himself up on the bowsprit and clambered down alone, his cutlass in his teeth, to the enemy’s deck. The “Wasp’s” men cheered vigorously, and, leaving their guns, rushed aft to follow him. Captain Jones, seeing that they would not be denied, then gave the order to Lieutenant Biddle to board.
Biddle, cutlass in hand, jumped upon the nettings to lead the men. Midshipman Yorick Baker41, being too small to clamber up alone, and seeing Biddle’s coat-tails flapping in the wind, seized hold of them, one in each hand. He did not want to be left behind, and thought he might trust to the impetuosity of his superior officer to land him successfully among the first on the deck of the enemy. But just then a terrific lurch42 threw Biddle off his balance,[114] and they both came violently to the deck. They were up again in a second, however, and with Lieutenant George W. Rogers and a party of seamen finally reached the bowsprit of the “Frolic.”
Upon the fo’c’s’le of the enemy stood Jack Lang, swinging to the motion of the brig, his cutlass at his side, looking aft at a scene of carnage that was hardly imaginable. All the fierceness had died out of him, for he looked around at Biddle and grinned broadly. The decks were covered with the dead and dying, who tossed about in the wash of bloody43 water with every heave of the ship. The decks, masts, bulwarks44, and rails were torn to ribbons, huge jagged splinters projecting everywhere. Guns, tubs, sponges, rammers, and solid shot were adrift, pounding from one side of the wreck45 to the other. No one moved to secure them, for only half a dozen men stood upright. At the wheel an old quartermaster, badly wounded, swung grimly, ready to die at his post. Behind him an English lieutenant, bleeding from ghastly wounds, clutched at a stanchion for support. Two other officers stood near, and one or two jackies glared forward at the Americans. There was no sign of resistance, and the wave of pity which came over Biddle and his officers swept away all[115] desire for battle. The British flag was still flying. No one seemed to have the strength to haul it down; so Biddle went aft and lowered it to the deck. In a few moments the masts fell, and she lay a useless hulk wallowing upon the waves, which, more sure of their prey46, dashed against her torn sides, widening the gashes47 made by her indomitable enemy, and at times making clean breaches48 over her bulwarks, tearing loose her boats and otherwise completing her destruction.
Under the conditions, it seemed hardly credible49 that such injury could have been inflicted50 in so short a time, for the battle had lasted only forty-three minutes. The “Frolic” had twenty-two guns, while the “Wasp” had only eighteen. The crew of the “Frolic” was less than of the “Wasp,” the best authorities estimating it at one hundred and ten, against one hundred and thirty-eight of the “Wasp.” But even here the great loss and damage to the “Frolic” can be explained in no way save that the Americans were superior gunners and seamen. The “Wasp” lost five killed and five wounded, and these men were most of them shot while aloft trying to refit gear. The “Frolic” lost fifteen killed and forty-seven wounded, making a total of sixty-two against ten of the “Wasp.”
But Jacob Jones’s victory was not to prove profitable, save in the great moral influence it exercised in England and America. He placed a crew upon the prize, and, having cleared away his wreck and refitted his rigging, tried to make sail away after the fleet of merchantmen, which by this time were nearly hull down on the horizon. But a great British seventy-four, the “Poictiers,” hove in sight, and before Jones could get away he found himself under her guns a prisoner. Captain Beresford, of the line-of-battle ship, took the sloop-of-war to Bermuda, and there a garbled51 report of the action between Captain Whinyate’s and Captain Jones’s vessels was written. But the American captain and his gallant crew were soon exchanged, and returned home, where their victory had been given its true value. They received twenty-five thousand dollars from Congress as prize-money, and a gold medal was given to Captain Jones and a silver one to each of the officers. The legislature of Pennsylvania gave Lieutenant Biddle a sword for his gallantry.
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1
frigates
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| n.快速军舰( frigate的名词复数 ) | |
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frigate
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| n.护航舰，大型驱逐舰 | |
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naval
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| adj.海军的，军舰的，船的 | |
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schooners
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| n.（有两个以上桅杆的）纵帆船( schooner的名词复数 ) | |
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ply
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| v.(搬运工等)等候顾客，弯曲 | |
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seaports
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| n.海港( seaport的名词复数 ) | |
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ordnance
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| n.大炮，军械 | |
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8
jack
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| n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克 | |
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tars
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| 焦油，沥青，柏油( tar的名词复数 ) | |
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gallant
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| adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的 | |
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vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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gale
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| n.大风，强风，一阵闹声（尤指笑声等） | |
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muzzles
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| 枪口( muzzle的名词复数 )； （防止动物咬人的）口套； （四足动物的）鼻口部； （狗）等凸出的鼻子和口 | |
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hull
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| n.船身；(果、实等的)外壳；vt.去(谷物等)壳 | |
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15
riddled
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| adj.布满的；充斥的；泛滥的v.解谜，出谜题(riddle的过去分词形式) | |
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fore
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| adv.在前面；adj.先前的；在前部的；n.前部 | |
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eastward
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| adv.向东；adj.向东的；n.东方，东部 | |
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capes
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| 碎谷； 斗篷( cape的名词复数 )； 披肩； 海角； 岬 | |
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seamen
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| n.海员 | |
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convoy
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| vt.护送，护卫，护航；n.护送；护送队 | |
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animation
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| n.活泼，兴奋，卡通片／动画片的制作 | |
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vessels
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| n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人 | |
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23
shrieking
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| v.尖叫( shriek的现在分词 ) | |
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hoisted
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| 把…吊起，升起( hoist的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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leeward
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| adj.背风的；下风的 | |
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adversary
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| adj.敌手，对手 | |
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deliberately
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| adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地 | |
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hissing
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| n. 发嘶嘶声, 蔑视 动词hiss的现在分词形式 | |
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engulf
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| vt.吞没，吞食 | |
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foam
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| v./n.泡沫，起泡沫 | |
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31
buffeted
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| 反复敲打( buffet的过去式和过去分词 )； 连续猛击； 打来打去； 推来搡去 | |
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plentifully
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| adv. 许多地，丰饶地 | |
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ammunition
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| n.军火，弹药 | |
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34
brace
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| n. 支柱,曲柄,大括号; v. 绷紧,顶住,(为困难或坏事)做准备 | |
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rendering
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| n.表现，描写 | |
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hulled
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| 有壳的，有船身的 | |
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frightful
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| adj.可怕的；讨厌的 | |
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catching
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| adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住 | |
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lieutenant
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| n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员 | |
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40
brawny
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| adj.强壮的 | |
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baker
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| n.面包师 | |
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42
lurch
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| n.突然向前或旁边倒；v.蹒跚而行 | |
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43
bloody
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| adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染 | |
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44
bulwarks
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| n.堡垒( bulwark的名词复数 )；保障；支柱；舷墙 | |
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45
wreck
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| n.失事，遇难；沉船；vt.(船等)失事，遇难 | |
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46
prey
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| n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨 | |
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47
gashes
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| n.深长的切口（或伤口）( gash的名词复数 )v.划伤，割破( gash的第三人称单数 ) | |
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48
breaches
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| 破坏( breach的名词复数 )； 破裂； 缺口； 违背 | |
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49
credible
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| adj.可信任的，可靠的 | |
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50
inflicted
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| 把…强加给，使承受，遭受( inflict的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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51
garbled
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| adj.（指信息）混乱的，引起误解的v.对（事实）歪曲，对（文章等）断章取义，窜改( garble的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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