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Read Ebook: The history of our Navy from its origin to the present day 1775-1897 vol. 1 (of 4) by Spears John Randolph
Font size: Background color: Text color: Add to tbrJar First Page Next Page Prev PageEbook has 181 lines and 111683 words, and 4 pagesLEITH PIER AND HARBOR. , 239 JOHN PAUL JONES. , 242 CAPT. SIR RICHARD PEARSON. , 261 JOHN PAUL JONES. , 263 SIGNATURE OF RICHARD DALE. , 266 A LETTER FROM PIERRE LANDAIS. , 268 JOHN PAUL JONES. , 269 JOHN PAUL JONES . , 271 JOHN PAUL JONES. , 273 JOHN PAUL JONES'S MEDAL, 276 A LETTER FROM JOHN PAUL JONES TO THOMAS JEFFERSON. , 279 SIGNATURE OF HOYSTED HACKER. , 283 SIR GEORGE COLLIER'S VICTORY IN PENOBSCOT BAY, 1779. , 285 MAP OF THE ATTACK ON THE PENOBSCOT FORT. , 288-9 SIGNATURE OF SAMUEL NICHOLSON. , 290 JAMES NICHOLSON. , 296 AN OLD NAVAL ORDER. , 301 A MEDITERRANEAN CORSAIR ANCHORING. , 306 A FRENCH VESSEL OF 118 GUNS, A CENTURY AGO. , 318 A FRENCH VESSEL OF 120 GUNS. , 322 MEDAL AWARDED TO THOMAS TRUXTON, 325 PORTRAIT OF TRUXTON AND PRESIDENT ADAMS'S LETTER TO HIM. , 326 TRUXTON'S MEDAL AND THE CONGRESSIONAL RESOLUTION AWARDING IT TO HIM, 327 A FRENCH CUTTER OF 16 GUNS. , 332 BENJAMIN STODDERT. , 334 MAP OF THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA, 340 WILLIAM BAINBRIDGE. , 341 STEPHEN DECATUR. , 347 EDWARD PREBLE. , 360 DECATUR AVENGING THE MURDER OF HIS BROTHER. , 363 REUBEN JAMES SAVING DECATUR'S LIFE. , 365 JOHN TRIPPE. , 367 THE BATTLE OF TRIPOLI, AUGUST 3, 1804. , 369 MAP OF THE HARBOR OF TRIPOLI, 372 PREBLE'S MEDAL, 379 "THE PRESS-GANG IMPRESSING A YOUNG WATERMAN ON HIS MARRIAGE DAY." , 386 ANOTHER VIEW OF THE "YOUNG WATERMAN" AND THE PRESS-GANG. , 388 A FLOGGING SCENE. , 391 CAPT. HENRY WHITBY, R. N. , 405 CAPT. SALUSBURY PRYCE HUMPHREYS, R. N. , 411 THE HISTORY OF OUR NAVY ORIGIN OF THE AMERICAN NAVY Of all the dates in American history not yet so commemorated, there is none so well worthy of recognition as a national holiday as the 22d of December; for it was on December 22, 1775, that the American navy came into existence. And there is no part of the story of the American nation of more thrilling interest than that including the events which compelled the establishment of this branch of the public service, nor is there any part of the nation's story as a whole that so stirs the patriotic pride of the American people as that which tells of the deeds of the heroes whose names have been inscribed upon the American naval registers. It is a grateful task to recount once more how it was that an American navy was demanded for the preservation of American liberties, and what has been accomplished by that navy since the day when Commodore Esek Hopkins received his commission, and then stood by on the deck of his flagship while John Paul Jones flung to the breeze the broad folds of the flag that bore as a symbol the picture of a rattlesnake coiled to strike, with the significant and appropriate motto, "DON'T TREAD ON ME." The salt-water Lexington, that is to say, the first fight afloat of the Revolutionary war, occurred on the night of June 17, 1772, in the waters of Rhode Island, and the fact that it was in Rhode Island will be recalled later on. The war of Great Britain against France for dominion in America, "though crowned with success, had engendered a progeny of discontents in her colonies." "Her policy toward them from the beginning had been purely commercial." And that is to say that the English, even in their dealings with their own colonies, were animated solely by greed. The stamp act; the levying of taxes on intercolonial commerce; the imposition of duties on glass, pasteboard, painters' colors, and tea, "to be collected on the arrival of the articles in the colonies"; worse yet, the "empowering of naval officers to enforce the acts of trade and navigation," grew out of "the spirit of trade which always aims to get the best of the bargain," regardless of right. Leaving the stranded schooner to heel with the falling tide, Captain Linzee drove on with the wind to Providence, where he landed at the wharf and spread the story of his trouble with the coast guard. Had it happened in the days before the French war, or before the persistent efforts of the British ministry to levy unjust taxes on the colonies had roused such intense opposition in New England, this affair would have been considered as a good joke on a revenue cutter, and that would have been the end of it so far as the people of Providence were concerned. Now, however, the matter was taken in a most serious light. As the sun went down, the town drummer appeared on the streets, and with the long roll and tattoo by which public meetings were called he gathered the men of the town under a horse-shed that stood near one of the larger stores overlooking the water. While yet the people were coming to the rendezvous, a man disguised as an Indian appeared on the roof and invited all "stout hearts" to meet him on the wharf at nine o'clock, disguised as he was. That was a most remarkable expedition in the matter of armament, for, although there were a few firearms in the boats, the crews depended for the most part on a liberal supply of round paving-stones that they carried for weapons of offense. As soon as this was done the schooner was effectually fired, and her captors, with their prisoners, pulled away; but they remained within sight until the early dawn appeared, when the schooner blew up, and the boats were rowed hastily home with the tide. The indignation of the British officials over this assault on a naval vessel was so great that a reward of ?1,000 was offered for the leader of the expedition, with ?500 more and a free pardon to any one of the offenders who would turn informer. But, "notwithstanding a Commission of Inquiry, under the great seal of England, sat with that object, from January to June, during the year 1773," not enough evidence was obtained to warrant the arrest of a single man. 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