The Second War with England, Vol. 1 of 2Headley, Joel Tyler
History
The Second War with England, Vol. 1 of 2
Headley, Joel Tyler
United States -- History -- War of 1812
enabled to throw a raking fire into the former. The order, therefore,
to board was countermanded, and a fresh broadside directed to sweep
her decks. In loading some of the guns, the rammers struck against the
bows of the Frolic. The shot went crashing the whole length of the
ship, and the crew, excited by this hand-to-hand fight, could no
longer be restrained from boarding. Mr. Biddle, the first lieutenant,
leaped into the rigging, followed by Lieut. Rodgers and other men,
and soon gained the decks of the Frolic--but, in looking round for the
enemy, they saw but three or four officers standing aft, and bleeding.
None but the dead and wounded cumbered the decks. Not one was left to
haul down the colors. The officers threw down their swords in token of
submission, and Lieutenant Biddle, springing into the rigging, lowered
the English flag with his own hand. The carnage was horrible for so
small a vessel--nearly a hundred of the officers and crew being killed
or wounded. The decks were literally covered with the mangled forms of
men and officers. The corpses presented a ghastly appearance as they
rolled from side to side with the tossing vessel, while shivered spars
and masts covered the wreck, and still hanging by the ropes, swung
with every lurch against its shattered hull. There can scarcely be a
more mournful sight than a noble ship dismantled in mid ocean, her
decks crimsoned with blood, while on every side, amid broken and rent
timbers, her gallant crew dismembered and torn, are stretched in
death.
The Frolic was a brig carrying in all twenty-two guns, while the Wasp,
though a ship, carried but eighteen, thus making a difference in favor
of the former of four guns.
The Wasp had, therefore, captured a superior force in single combat.
But in this, as in the two former engagements I have detailed, the
same extraordinary disparity in the respective losses of the two
vessels was exhibited. While near a hundred were killed or wounded in
the Frolic, there were only five killed and as many wounded in the
American ship. It is not a matter of surprise that the belief became
prevalent in England that our vessels were filled with Kentucky
riflemen. These men had become famous for their accuracy of aim; and
it was supposed we had introduced them into our navy. In no other way
could they account for the awful carnage that followed every single
combat of ship with ship. In all her naval history, such destructive
work had never been witnessed in so short a space of time. The moment
an American vessel opened her broadsides, death began to traverse the
decks of her antagonist with such a rapid footstep, that men were
appalled.
This was doubtless owing in a great measure to our guns being sighted,
an improvement introduced by American officers, rendering the aim
infinitely more accurate.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account