"As we take a survey from a standpoint at mid-autumn, 1813, we observe with astonishment only three American frigates at sea, namely, the _President_, 44; the _Congress_, 38; and the _Essex_, 32. The _Constitution_, 44, was undergoing repairs; the _Constellation_, 38, was blockaded at Norfolk; and the _United States_, 44, and _Macedonian_, 38, were prisoners in the Thames above New London. The _Adams_, 28, was undergoing repairs and alterations, while the _John Adams_, 28, _New York_, 36, and _Boston_, 28, were virtually condemned. All the brigs, excepting the _Enterprise_, had been captured, and she was not to be trusted at sea much longer. The _Essex_, Commodore Porter, was the only government vessel of size which was then sustaining the reputation of the American Navy, and she was in far distant seas, with a track equal to more than a third of the circumference of the globe between her and the home port from which she sailed. She was then making one of the most remarkable cruises on record." In October, 1812, Captain William Bainbridge was appointed the successor of Captain Hull in the command of the _Constitution_; and, according to Lossing, "a small squadron, consisting of the _Constitution_, 44, _Essex_, 32, and _Hornet_, 18, were placed in his charge. When Bainbridge entered upon his duty in the new sphere of flag officer, the _Constitution_ and _Hornet_ were lying in Boston harbor, and the _Essex_, Captain Porter, was in the Delaware. Orders were sent to the latter to cruise in the track of the English West Indiamen, and at the specified time to rendezvous at certain ports, when, if he should not fall in with the flagship of the squadron, he would be at liberty to follow the dictates of his own judgment. Such contingency occurred, and the _Essex_ sailed on a very long and most eventful cruise in the South Atlantic and Pacific Oceans." The _Essex_ left the Delaware October, 1812, in pursuance with the command received by Captain Porter; and he must have already outlined in his own mind what course to pursue in case he failed to meet the little squadron, for Lossing says, "Captain Porter took with him a larger number of officers and crew than was common for a vessel of that size. Her muster roll contained three hundred and nineteen names; and her supplies were so ample that she sank deep in the water, which greatly impeded her sailing qualities." On Porter's monument, which stands in Woodlawn Cemetery, Pennsylvania, are the following inscriptions: "Commodore David Porter, one of the most heroic sons of Pennsylvania, having long represented his country with fidelity as minister resident at Constantinople, died at that city in the patriotic discharge of his duties March 3, 1843."