THE "GENERAL ARMSTRONG" PRIVATEER

We have fought such a fight for a day and a night
As may never be fought again!
We have won great glory, my men!
And a day less or more
At sea or ashore,
We die--does it matter when?
--Tennyson.


THE "GENERAL ARMSTRONG" PRIVATEER

In the revolution, and again in the war of 1812, the seas were
covered by swift-sailing American privateers, which preyed on the
British trade. The hardy seamen of the New England coast, and of
New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore, turned readily from their
adventurous careers in the whalers that followed the giants of
the ocean in every sea and every clime, and from trading voyages
to the uttermost parts of the earth, to go into the business of
privateering, which was more remunerative, and not so very much
more dangerous, than their ordinary pursuits. By the end of the,
war of 1812, in particular, the American privateers had won for
themselves a formidable position on the ocean. The schooners,
brigs, and brigantines in which the privateersmen sailed were
beautifully modeled, and were among the fastest craft afloat.
They were usually armed with one heavy gun, the "long Tom," as it
was called, arranged on a pivot forward or amidships, and with a
few lighter pieces of cannon. They carried strong crews of
well-armed men, and their commanders were veteran seamen, used to
brave every danger from the elements or from man. So boldly did
they prey on the British commerce, that they infested even the
Irish Sea and the British Channel, and increased many times the
rate of insurance on vessels passing across those waters. They
also often did battle with the regular men-of-war of the British,
being favorite objects for attack by cutting-out parties from the
British frigates and ships of the line, and also frequently
encountering in fight the smaller sloops-of-war. Usually, in
these contests, the privateersmen were worsted, for they had not
the training which is obtained only in a regular service, and
they were in no way to be compared to the little fleet of regular
vessels which in this same war so gloriously upheld the honor of
the American flag. Nevertheless, here and there a privateer
commanded by an exceptionally brave and able captain, and manned
by an unusually well-trained crew, performed some feat of arms
which deserves to rank with anything ever performed by the
regular navy. Such a feat was the defense of the brig General
Armstrong, in the Portuguese port of Fayal, of the Azores,
against an overwhelming British force.

The General Armstrong hailed from New York, and her captain was
named Reid. She had a crew of ninety men, and was armed with one
heavy 32 pounder and six lighter guns. In December, 1814, she was
lying in Fayal, a neutral port, when four British war-vessels, a
ship of the line, a frigate and two brigs, hove into sight, and
anchored off the mouth of the harbor. The port was neutral, but
Portugal was friendly to England, and Reid knew well that the
British would pay no respect to the neutrality laws if they
thought that at the cost of their violation they could destroy
the privateer. He immediately made every preparation to resist an
attack, The privateer was anchored close to the shore. The
boarding-nettings were got ready, and were stretched to booms
thrust outward from the brig's side, so as to check the boarders
as they tried to climb over the bulwarks. The guns were loaded
and cast loose, and the men went to quarters armed with muskets,
boarding-pikes, and cutlases.

On their side the British made ready to carry the privateer by
boarding. The shoals rendered it impossible for the heavy ships
to approach, and the lack of wind and the baffling currents also
interfered for the moment with the movements of the
sloops-of-war. Accordingly recourse was had to a cutting-out
party, always a favorite device with the British seamen of that
age, who were accustomed to carry French frigates by boarding,
and to capture in their boats the heavy privateers and armed
merchantmen, as well as the lighter war-vessels of France and
Spain.

The British first attempted to get possession of the brig by
surprise, sending out but four boats. These worked down near to
the brig, under pretense of sounding, trying to get close enough
to make a rush and board her. The privateersmen were on their
guard, and warned the boats off, and after the warning had been
repeated once or twice unheeded, they fired into them, killing
and wounding several men. Upon this the boats promptly returned
to the ships.

This first check greatly irritated the British captains, and they
decided to repeat the experiment that night with a force which
would render resistance vain. Accordingly, after it became dark,
a dozen boats were sent from the liner and the frigate, manned by
four hundred stalwart British seamen, and commanded by the
captain of one of the brigs of war. Through the night they rowed
straight toward the little privateer lying dark and motionless in
the gloom. As before, the privateersmen were ready for their foe,
and when they came within range opened fire upon them, first with
the long gun and then with the lighter cannon; but the British
rowed on with steady strokes, for they were seamen accustomed to
victory over every European foe, and danger had no terrors for
them. With fierce hurrahs they dashed through the shot-riven
smoke and grappled the brig; and the boarders rose, cutlas in
hand, ready to spring over the bulwarks. A terrible struggle
followed. The British hacked at the boarding-nets and strove to
force their way through to the decks of the privateer, while the
Americans stabbed the assailants with their long pikes and
slashed at them with their cutlases. The darkness was lit by the
flashes of flame from the muskets and the cannon, and the air was
rent by the oaths and shouts of the combatants, the heavy
trampling on the decks, the groans of the wounded, the din of
weapon meeting weapon, and all the savage tumult of a
hand-to-hand fight. At the bow the British burst through the
boarding-netting, and forced their way to the deck, killing or
wounding all three of the lieutenants of the privateer; but when
this had happened the boats had elsewhere been beaten back, and
Reid, rallying his grim sea-dogs, led them forward with a rush,
and the boarding party were all killed or tumbled into the sea.
This put an end to the fight. In some of the boats none but
killed and wounded men were left. The others drew slowly off,
like crippled wild-fowl, and disappeared in the darkness toward
the British squadron. Half of the attacking force had been killed
or wounded, while of the Americans but nine had fallen.

The British commodore and all his officers were maddened with
anger and shame over the repulse, and were bent upon destroying
the privateer at all costs. Next day, after much exertion, one of
the war-brigs was warped into position to attack the American,
but she first took her station at long range, so that her
carronades were not as effective as the pivot gun of the
privateer; and so well was the latter handled, that the British
brig was repeatedly hulled, and finally was actually driven off.
A second attempt was made, however, and this time the
sloop-of-war got so close that she could use her heavy
carronades, which put the privateer completely at her mercy. Then
Captain Reid abandoned his brig and sank her, first carrying
ashore the guns, and marched inland with his men. They were not
further molested; and, if they had lost their brig, they had at
least made their foes pay dear for her destruction, for the
British had lost twice as many men as there were in the whole
hard-fighting crew of the American privateer.

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