Yankee Ships and Yankee Sailors: Tales of 1812 Page 5
REUBEN JAMES, ABLE SEAMAN
This is a story that has oft been told before. But in history, if a manbecomes famous by one act, and be that act something worth recording,it will stand being told about again. So if this be an old yarn, thisis the only apology for the spinning, and here goes for it:--
Reuben James may be well remembered by men who are yet living, for hedied but some fifty years ago. He was born in the state of Delaware, ofthe good old "poor but honest" stock. Sailor boy and man was Reuben,with a vocabulary limited to the names of things on shipboard and theverbs to pull and haul. He went to sea at the age of thirteen years,and in 1797, when only a lad of sixteen, although he had already madethree or four cruises of some length, he was captured by a Frenchprivateer during the quasi-war between this country and the citizenRepublic of France. Upon his liberation, Reuben made up his mind toserve no longer in the merchant service, but to ship as soon aspossible in the best frigate that flew our flag; and as hisimprisonment lasted but some five or six months, he soon foundopportunity for revenge. Upon returning to the States he was fortunateenough to find the old _Constellation_ in port picking up her crew.This was in the year 1799, and the old ship was then in command of theintrepid Commodore Truxtun, and he was her commander when she gave sucha drubbing to the French frigates _Insurgente_ and _Vengeance_, whichtaught the citizens a lesson, and brought to an end, as much as anyother thing, the ridiculous situation of two nations not actually atwar fighting one another at sea whenever they met. In these actionsyoung James distinguished himself. He was by nature fearless to theverge of recklessness, and he was probably in trouble, on account ofhis devil-may-care propensities, more than once. In 1804, he sailed inthe frigate _United States_ to the Mediterranean, and when youngStephen Decatur sailed into the harbor and successfully destroyed thecaptured frigate _Philadelphia_, which the Tripolitans had anchoredbeneath their batteries, Reuben James was one of the first tovolunteer. He returned from the successful accomplishment of thedesign, impressed with the young leader's courage and magnetism, and asoften is the case between a beloved officer and the man who servesunder him, there grew up in the young sailor's heart--he and Decaturwere about the same age--a wild desire to do something to prove hisdevotion. The affection of brave men for one another leads to deeds ofnoble self-sacrifice, and Reuben James's chance was to come. Every timethat he was assigned to boat duty in the many skirmishes and littleactions, before the harbor of Tripoli, Reuben succeeded in going inDecatur's boat, and one day to his delight he was promoted to becockswain, which must have proved that Decatur's keen eye had noticedhim.
On the 3d of August, 1804, early in the morning, the orders were sentthroughout Commodore Preble's fleet to prepare for a general attack totake place as soon as it was broad daylight. The American forceconsisted of the _Constitution_ and a number of gunboats of the samestyle and size as those composing the Tripolitan forces. Everything wasready on time, but the lack of wind prevented the action from takingplace until late in the afternoon, when the _Constitution_, preceded bythree of the American gunboats, entered the harbor. There were nine ofthe Bey's crack vessels, composing the eastern wing, waiting not farfrom shore. The three Yankee gunboats bore down upon them withouthesitation, in gallant style. In slap-bang fashion, they sailed rightinto the Tripolitans and captured, cutlass in hand, the three leadingones. The other six fled and came plashing up the harbor, working theirheavy sweeps for all they were worth.
A few minutes after their retreat, one of the other vessels that, toall appearances, had surrendered, broke away and started up the harbor,scrambling along as fast as she could go. Decatur in his small boat wasnot far away. There was a mist of battle smoke hanging over the water,and for an instant he did not notice what was going on; but when he didhear what had happened, all the fierce daring in his nature wasaroused, and mingled with the anger and desire for revenge, itcompletely swept him away. He was told that the Tripolitan commander,who had just made his escape, had treacherously risen upon the prizecrew sent on board of him, after he had struck his flag, and with hisown hands had killed Decatur's beloved brother James. When this newsreached him, Decatur did not falter.
"After him!" he cried to his crew. "Put me alongside of him!"
"We'll put you there, sir," said Reuben James, who was at the tiller.And out of the smoke into the plain view of the guns of the battery andalso of the American captives, who had viewed the whole affair from thewindow of their prison, the little boat started in the wake of thefelucca, whose force of men outnumbered hers by three to one. Theygained at every jump, and in a few minutes they had run their littleboat alongside, thrown down their oars, and to a man had scrambled onboard the Tripolitan. Decatur had set his eye upon a red-turbanedfigure that he knew to be the leader. This man had killed his brother!Almost before the bowman had laid hold of the enemy's gunwale, he hadmade a flying leap off it and gained the deck. Ignoring every risk,scarcely pausing to ward off the many blows that were aimed at him, hemade straight for the man in the red turban. The pirate was armed witha long spear and one of those deadly curved scimitars, sharp as steelcan stand it, capable of lopping off a limb at a single stroke; drawingback he aimed a full-length thrust as soon as Decatur confronted him,for he must have read his fate in the determined look on the latter'sface. Decatur dodged skilfully and tried to come to closer quarters;but the Tripolitan by great agility succeeded in keeping out of theway, and once more he lunged. This time as Decatur parried hissword-blade broke off at the hilt; dropping it, he laid hold of hisenemy's spear, and in the wrestle for its possession, he succeeded intripping up the Turk, and both fell upon the deck. The red-turbanedone, freeing one hand, drew a dagger from his waist-cloth, and just ashe was about to plunge it into the body of the young American, Decaturmanaged to draw a small pistol, and lifting himself on his elbow, blewoff the top of his opponent's head.
Revenge was his. But what about our friend Reuben? The only reason thatDecatur had not been killed in the early part of the struggle by themany blows that were aimed at him--for the American boarding partynumbered but twelve all told--was the fact that seaman Reuben James wasclose behind him, warding off blow after blow. Disdaining to protecthimself, his right arm was rendered useless, so that he had to shifthis cutlass to his left hand. He was slashed seven times about thebody. A cut on the shoulder made him drop his weapon, and just at thismoment he saw that Decatur was lying upon the deck with his foeman overhim. Behind him a sinewy man was aiming a deadly blow directlydownward. Reuben James sprang forward. His right arm was useless andhis left almost so. There was nothing he could interpose between thatdeadly blow and his beloved commander but his life! Trying weakly topush back the Tripolitan, he leaned forward swiftly and caught the blowfrom the scimitar on his own head. It fractured his skull, and he fellinsensible to the deck.
But a Yankee sailor is a hard man to kill--in three weeks cockswainJames was at his post again. His recovery was no doubt due to hiswonderful constitution and his youth.
"Reuben James sprang forward."]
As soon as the war with Great Britain was declared, Reuben made allhaste to join his old commander, and he served in the frigate _UnitedStates_ when she captured the _Macedonian_, and afterwards in the_President_ when she took the _Endymion_. In both actions he got asnear Decatur as he could, and in the last-named conflict he receivedthree wounds. Although suffering greatly, he refused to leave the deckuntil after the _President_ had struck her flag to the squadron thatcaptured her, whereupon Reuben James was carried below weeping--notfrom pain or anguish, but from sheer mortification and grief.
At Decatur's funeral he wept again, honest fellow, and whenever he cameto port he would visit his commander's grave. Reuben was in actualservice until the year 1836, when he arrived in Washington for thepurpose of obtaining a pension. He was suffering very much at this timefrom an old musket-shot wound that had caused a disease of the bone ofhis leg. It was exceedingly painful and becoming dangerous. Afterconsultation the doctors ordered amputation, and as h
e lay in thehospital the decision was announced to him. With his old indifferenceto danger, and his reckless spirit, Reuben replied in the followingwords:--
"Doctor, you are the captain, sir. Fire away; but I don't think it isshipshape to put me under jury masts when I have just come intoharbor."
The day after the operation Reuben was very low, and it was thoughtthat he had but a few hours to live. The old sailor himself declaredthat he had reached the bitter end of his rope, appeared resigned tohis fate, and begged the surgeon to "ease him off handsomely while hewas about it."
"Reuben," said the doctor, "we have concluded that we will give you agood drink and allow you to name it. What will you have, brown stout orbrandy toddy?"
"I s'pose I won't take another for a long time, sir," Reuben responded,with a twinkle in his eye. "So just s'pose you give us both; which onefirst it doesn't much matter."
He prided himself that he had been in ten fights and as many"skrimedges," and as he was a favorite character, he was allowed tocelebrate each in turn as they came around, so his happy days weremany. There was one subject to which, however, no one could everrefer--Decatur's sad and untimely end. Always in his heart Reuben borea deep and lasting love, and an ever-living admiration for the manwhose life he had saved; and those friends of the young Commodorealways treated the old sailor with the greatest of deference. HadDecatur lived, it is safe to state that wherever he went Reuben wouldhave gone also, and if the latter had not walked bare-headed andweeping at his officer's funeral; and had it been the other way about,with Reuben being put to earth, Decatur would have been there, ifpossible, hat in hand, to shed a tear of sorrow.