Thirty Years From Home; or, a Voice From the Main Deck: Being the Experience of Samuel LeechLeech, Samuel
History
Thirty Years From Home; or, a Voice From the Main Deck: Being the Experience of Samuel Leech
Leech, Samuel
Adventure and adventurers; Leech, Samuel, 1798-1848; Sailors; United States -- History -- War of 1812 -- Personal narratives
One of the officers in my division also fell in my sight. He was a
noble-hearted fellow, named Nan Kivell.[8] A grape or canister shot
struck him near the heart: exclaiming, “Oh! my God!” he fell, and was
carried below, where he shortly after died.
Mr. Hope, our first lieutenant, was also slightly wounded by a
grummet, or small iron ring, probably torn from a hammock clew by a
shot. He went below, shouting to the men to fight on. Having had his
wound dressed, he came up again, shouting to us at the top of his
voice, and bidding us fight with all our might. There was not a man
in the ship but would have rejoiced had he been in the place of our
master’s mate, the unfortunate Nan Kivell.
The battle went on. Our men kept cheering with all their might.
I cheered with them, though I confess I scarcely knew for what.
Certainly there was nothing very inspiriting in the aspect of things
where I was stationed. So terrible had been the work of destruction
round us, it was termed the slaughter-house. Not only had we had
several boys and men killed or wounded, but several of the guns were
disabled. The one I belonged to had a piece of the muzzle knocked
out; and when the ship rolled, it struck a beam of the upper deck
with such force as to become jammed and fixed in that position. A
twenty-four pound shot had also passed through the screen of the
magazine, immediately over the orifice through which we passed
our powder. The schoolmaster[9] received a death wound. The brave
boatswain, who came from the sick bay to the din of battle, was
fastening a stopper on a back-stay which had been shot away, when his
head was smashed to pieces by a cannon-ball; another man, going to
complete the unfinished task, was also struck down. Another of our
midshipmen also received a severe wound. The unfortunate ward-room
steward, who, the reader will recollect, attempted to cut his throat
on a former occasion, was killed. A fellow named John, who, for some
petty offence, had been sent on board as a punishment, was carried
past me, wounded. I distinctly heard the large blood-drops fall pat,
pat, pat, on the deck; his wounds were mortal. Even a poor goat, kept
by the officers for her milk, did not escape the general carnage; her
hind legs were shot off, and poor Nan was thrown overboard.
Such was the terrible scene, amid which we kept on our shouting
and firing. Our men fought like tigers. Some of them pulled off
their jackets, others their jackets and vests; while some, still
more determined, had taken off their shirts, and, with nothing but
a handkerchief tied round the waistbands of their trousers, fought
like heroes. Jack Sadler, whom the reader will recollect, was one of
these. I also observed a boy, named Cooper, stationed at a gun some
distance from the magazine. He came to and fro on the full run, and
appeared to be as “merry as a cricket.” The third lieutenant cheered
him along, occasionally, by saying, “Well done, my boy, you are worth
your weight in gold.”
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