Yankee Ships and Yankee Sailors: Tales of 1812 Read online

  Produced by Greg Bergquist and the Online DistributedProofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file wasproduced from images generously made available by TheInternet Archive)

  YANKEE SHIPS AND YANKEE SAILORS:--TALES OF 1812

  "It was Lieutenant Allen!"]

  Yankee Ships and Yankee Sailors:--Tales of 1812

  By

  James Barnes

  Author of "Naval Engagements of the War of 1812""A Loyal Traitor," "For King or Country," etc.

  With Numerous Illustrations byR. F. Zogbaum and Carlton T. Chapman.

  New YorkThe Macmillan CompanyLondon: Macmillan & Co., Ltd.1897

  _All rights reserved_

  Copyright, 1897,By The Macmillan Company.

  Set up and electrotyped October, 1897. Reprinted November, 1897.

  _Norwood PressJ. S. Cusbing & Co.--Berwick & SmithNorwood Mass. U.S.A._

  _To my Brother_

  PREFACE

  In presenting this volume of "Tales of 1812" it is not the intention ofthe author to give detailed accounts of actions at sea or to presentbiographical sketches of well-known heroes; he wishes but to tellsomething of the ships that fought the battles, whose names areinseparably connected with a glorious past, and to relate incidentsconnected with the Yankee sailors who composed their crews--"A YankeeShip and a Yankee Crew"--thus runs the old song; it is to exploit bothin a measure that is the intention of this book. Brave fellows, theseold-time Jackies were. Their day has gone by with the departed dayalso, of the storm-along captains, the men who carried sail in allsorts of weather, who took their vessels through dangerous passagesunmarked by buoys, with only the fickle wind to drive them, who sailedinto the enemy's cruising-grounds, and counting on the good Yankee pineand live oak, had perilous escapes and adventures which fiction cannotexaggerate. It stirs one's blood to read of these. Surely, it will notarouse a hatred for by-gone enemies, to hark back to them.

  The incidents made use of in the following pages are historical, or atleast authentic--some may perhaps come under the head of tradition.Tradition is historical rumor; it may be proved by investigation to beactual fact, or it may be accepted at its face value, on account of itsprobability. To investigate, one is led to break open and dissect andsometimes we destroy a wealth of sentiment in the proceeding; bycasting aside tradition that is harmless we destroy the color ofhistory; we may lose its side lights and shadows that give vividnessand beauty to the whole effect. It has not been a spirit of researchinto the science of history, or a chance for deep delving into figuresand records, that has animated the author, although he has drawn uponstate papers for material, and all correspondence and importantreferences can be vouched for. He has endeavored to refreshen thecolors by removing the dust that may have settled. He has touched thefragile bric-a-brac of tradition with the feather duster ofinvestigation. There is sufficient excuse for everything that iswritten in this book. Facts are not lacking to prove much here to betrue. It will not confuse our historical knowledge to accept it thus.

  We can draw accurate conclusions as to what kind of men these fine oldfellows were; how they looked; how they spoke and acted. Their deedsare part of the nation's record, and their ships exist now in the shapeof a few old hulls. We can mark how carefully and strongly they wereconstructed; we can imagine them swarming with men and quiveringbeneath the thunder of broadsides. The author has tried to put thesailor back upon his ship again. Here we have the old tales now retold;retold by one who loves to listen to them, therefore to talk aboutthem. This is his prologue to the telling, and that is all there is toit.