Yankee Ships and Yankee Sailors: Tales of 1812
THE LOSS OF THE VIXEN
On the 22d of October, 1812, at nine A.M., the United States brig_Vixen_ crossed St. Mary's bar outward bound for a cruise to thesouthward. It was not expected that she would be absent from homewaters for more than a month. Her commander was George W. Reed, a goodofficer, although he had had little experience in actual warfare. Thehundred and ten men under his immediate command had trust in hisjudgment and were all animated with a hope of coming in again with oneof the enemy under their lee, or at least they trusted that they shouldbe fortunate enough to make one or two rich captures and return withprize money to their credit. As one of the _Vixen's_ crew wrote: "Allhands were in high health and spirits, and filled with the idea of soonreturning with some fruit of the consequence of the war."
Day after day the _Vixen_ sailed on and saw one sail after another; butowing to her having been well to the leeward in every case she had beenunable to bring any to close quarters. On the tenth morning after herdeparture a sail was descried, and this time it so happened that thelittle brig was well to the windward. Setting every stitch of hercanvas, she made after the stranger. Judging from all reports, the_Vixen's_ intentions must have been better than her powers of puttingthem into practice; for if her legs had been faster, so to speak, theexpectations of her crew might have been answered, and this story(which is nothing but a record of events, however) would never have hada chance to be written. So it is safe to draw the conclusion that shewas not as fast as many of our little vessels were at this period ofour naval history.
While chasing the strange sail, another was perceived to be bearingdown from the northwest. This put another face on the matter. The_Vixen_ hauled her wind and waited. As it was perceived the secondstranger was undoubtedly armed and was a large brig, Reed called hismen together as was the custom and made the following little speech:--
"Now, my lads, there she is; I expect every man to stand to his guns.Don't fire a gun until you are within pistol shot; take good aim andshow her fair play."
As the vessel came on without raising her flag, she fired a broadsideof round and grape, which, however, served no other purpose than tochurn the water into foam some distance ahead of the _Vixen's_ bow.The latter returned the compliment, and planted a double-shottedeighteen-pound charge in her antagonist's hull, above the sternpost.Again the stranger fired and missed, although at musket-shot distance.
Now, odd to relate, the unknown ran up signals, which, notunderstanding, Captain Reed replied to with an assortment of grape. Atthis the signals came down and the Spanish colors went up in theirplace. Bitter was the disappointment; she was to be no costly prize,after all. Seeing there was some difficulty on board of her, CaptainReed lowered a boat, and ascertained that she was a Spanish brig offourteen guns from Havana, bound for Cadiz. Finding out that she onlyhad two or three men slightly wounded, Captain Reed went on his way,after regretting that the "mistake" had occurred. However, in the logthere was entered on this day that "owing to the good chance for targetpractice the morning had not been spent amiss."
For just one month everything seemed to run away from the poor little_Vixen_. The men were getting discouraged. They would see a convoy,most probably made up of rich merchantmen, somewhere off to leeward,and then a fog would shut down, and when it cleared away nothing wouldbe seen but an expanse of empty horizon. With nothing done, and a sorryand disappointed crew, she was within two days' sail of St. Mary's, inthe state of Maryland, when as luck would have it the man at themasthead reported a sail on the starboard beam.
Much better would it have been for the little _Vixen_ if the fog hadclosed down or a contrary wind had sprung up, or had she gone about herbusiness and made for home as soon as possible. It was just daylight inthe morning. Steering-sails were set on both sides as she was headedout again to meet the stranger, who had evidently not observed herpresence. By six o'clock it was made out that the unknown was a frigateand no less. This was more than the _Vixen_ had bargained for.With all her canvas standing as it was, she tacked ship and hauled upon the wind, which was extremely light. But the frigate proved herselfto be a good one at going; she had set all of her light canvas that shecould, and it was a caution the way she came down upon the little brig.
Although it is only a preliminary to the story, which has another sidethan that of the amusing, one cannot read an extract from the _Vixen's_log without feeling inclined to smile. Therefore to quote: "At ten,finding the chase gained on us, increasingly, commenced starting waterout of the fore and main holds to lighten the brig. At eleven deadcalm; out sweeps and continued rowing without intermission untiltwelve. Slow work; but we had now gained some advantage over the chase.Then a breeze springing up we quickly lost it. In sweeps, and tolighten the brig still more, hove every article, in and under theboats, overboard. Stationed hands by the anchors to cut them away whenordered. Half past twelve P.M., discharged all the shot from the racks.At one, cut away both anchors. At two P.M., the chase still gaining,hove two elegant brass nine-pounders after the anchors. Chase stillgained. Broached all the water in the casks, hove over all ourbroadside guns, and everything that seemed to carry weight. Findingthat in despite of our exertions the _Vixen_ would not sail an inchfaster than her old gait, we now had the melancholy satisfaction ofknowing our capture was a certainty. But we were determined to useevery exertion to avoid it. Thus we commenced manoeuvring with thesails, which kept the men on the jump and had only the effect ofputting off the capture for an hour or two. At three P.M., all her gunswere visible, at half past, coming up, hand over hand, she gave us ashot which fell short. A few minutes later another was sent which wentbetween our foremast and mainmast. Answered by running up our colorsand firing a musket to windward. The chase having English colors up,and as it would have been madness to engage her, we fired another shotto leeward and hauled our colors down. At four P.M., she rangedalongside."
And now, strange to say, all those on board the brig were astonished tosee that the frigate had the word "Constellation" painted on her stern.The crew of the _Vixen_ looked at each other in astonishment. Had therebeen another mistake? But there was something unmistakably Englishabout the cut of her jib, and the red coats of a party of marines whowere scrambling down into a boat which she had lowered plainly showedher character. Besides this, Captain Reed knew well that the Yankee_Constellation_ was aground in the mud-flats of the James River, whereshe stayed during the war.
The officer, who was soon on board, with his seamen and marines,informed Captain Reed and his lieutenants that the _Vixen_ was a prizeto His Britannic Majesty's frigate _Southampton_, thirty-six guns, SirJames Lucas Yeo, commander. At once Captain Reed entered the Englishboat and went on board the frigate. As he rode close under the stern hesaw that the word "Constellation" had been painted on a wide strip ofcanvas, tacked neatly over the name "Southampton." He did not ask thereason for this; it was easy to guess. If she happened to put in to oneof the small harbors along the coast, it would conceal successfully heridentity. Probably Sir James did not know that the real _Constellation_was fast in the mud-flat.
Sir James was a gentleman and a nobleman by action as well as by birth,and his very first doing proved it. He came forward to meet CaptainReed and lifted his hat in a courtly salute; Captain Reed presented thehilt of his sword in token of surrender.
"No, no, sir," spoke up the Captain of the _Southampton_. "I cannotaccept this from you; and I wish to commend you, sir, upon the skillyou displayed in endeavoring to save your vessel. My ship is a veryfast one."
"And mine a very slow one," put in Captain Reed.
"But I am sure you did everything that any one could do to get speedout of her."
"We hove everything overboard but our top sides and scantlings,"returned Reed.
The officers standing about smiled, for the _Vixen's_ frantic endeavorsto escape had been watched closely through the glass.
The kindness shown to the brig's commander was extended in every way tothe other officers and to the crew also. As the frigate was v
erycrowded, but seventy of the _Vixen's men_ were transferred to her. Theother forty were kept as prisoners on board their own vessel. Every manwas allowed to take his dunnage, and the prisoners on board the_Southampton_ were given the run of the forward and main holds,although the hatchways were closely guarded by armed sentinels.Excepting for the confinement, which was absolutely necessary, ofcourse, and which was in direct accordance with the rules of war, theprisoners suffered no inconvenience. Twice a day in details of twentythey were permitted to be on deck to enjoy the fresh air. The_Southampton's_ crew were already on short allowance, owing to theirhaving been at sea for some length of time, and the dole allowed theAmericans was almost, if not quite, equal to that given the Englishmen.The officers were treated with the greatest of politeness and civility,and Captain Reed dined daily with Sir James in the cabin. All handsvoted him a fine man and gentleman, and that he was a naval officer wasproved conclusively enough by his actions subsequently when at the headof the British operations on the Lakes.
Five days after the capture the weather was fine, but a small sea wasrunning. The _Southampton_, under easy sail, was leading, and crowdingon all she could carry; the _Vixen_ managed to keep within signallingdistance of her. In three or four days every one expected to beanchored safe in Jamaica.
It was about half past eleven on a bright starry night when the lookoutforward suddenly gave the cry, "Land ho!" A line of breakers could beseen about two miles to the westward, and above them the shores of alittle island, at its highest point but twelve or fourteen feet abovethe water. Evidently the sailing-master of the frigate was out of hiscourse. He probably had not allowed for the drift of one of thosestrange Gulf currents which have caused the destruction of many a fineship.
The _Southampton_ was put about in a hurry, and as she was such a goodsailer and was so quick in manoeuvring, no danger was apprehended, andshe jogged along to the eastward to escape the proximity of the shoals.The _Vixen_ was following her and taking in some of her sail as thewind commenced to blow much fresher. At twelve o'clock the sky haddarkened, and it was difficult for one vessel to distinguish the other,although in the early part of the evening, by the aid of the moon andstars, everything had been visible. The mid-watch was just coming on,when, with a sudden shock, the _Southampton_ struck on a sunken ledgeof rocks; but she slid over the first, tearing the sheathing from herhull and wedging herself firmly in at the stern. Immediately a gun wasfired to warn the _Vixen_, that was following in the wake; and also tobe a signal of distress, as the greatest consternation prevailed now onboard the frigate--that was leaking badly. But the usual ill fortune ofthe _Vixen_ pursued her. At first she hove to and shortened sail,preparing to come to the frigate's assistance. Just as she was about toheave to the second time and lower a boat, she struck with such avicious force that her bows drove high out of water, she was stove incompletely, and all the prisoners, who had been wondering what wasgoing on, now terrified and in great fear of immediate death, rushed upon deck to see a strange sight. It was pitch dark; the waves werebreaking on every hand, and off the port bow the big frigate could beseen hard and fast, signalling in great distress.
Her position, in fact, was much worse than that of the brig, for shewas filling and settling rapidly. Everything was being done thatknowledge and good seamanship could suggest or direct. The top-gallantyards and masts were sent down, and top-masts were struck; andnotwithstanding the sea was very rough, two boats were lowered, andalthough one was crushed against the vessel's side, the other set outto search for a safe passage through the reef. On board the _Vixen_ theboats had been called away, and the American and English crews weremingled, but without confusion. A Yankee sat beside John Bull on athwart, and deeming that their own vessel was in no immediate danger,but that the _Southampton_ was about to sink, they started to act thepart of life-savers and rescue as many of the frigate's crew as theycould. There was no thought of their being enemies, no observance ofthe differences between prisoners and captors; all sought to act forthe cause of humanity and to save human life. But they had notproceeded far from the side of the brig when they were called back in ahurry. The _Vixen_ had slipped from her firm position on the jaggedrock and was surely sinking. So instead of being a rescue party toothers they found they had all they could do to save themselves. Butevery man was taken off and brought on board of the _Southampton_.
"Everything was done that good seamanship coulddirect."]
Daylight was waited for most anxiously, and when it came, a drearyprospect was before the ship-wrecked ones. Not far away was a lowisland that was pronounced at once to be the island of Conception.Nothing but the topgallant masts of the _Vixen_ showed above the water,as she had sunk during the night. The _Southampton's_ pumps had beenkept going for six hours. But she was so badly bilged, and the waterwas gaining so fast, that her hours were numbered. With a rising seathere was immediate danger of her going to pieces, and in her crowdedcondition the consequent loss of life would have been too terrible tothink of. It was a row of about ten miles from the reef on which theship lay to the distant low-lying, sandy shore. All the boats were madeready, a raft was built and floated alongside, and the boatswain,obeying orders from the quarter-deck, began bawling: "Away there, youVixens, away!" So the prisoners were to go first; but since the vesselshad struck they had not been treated as prisoners at all. They hadobeyed Sir James's orders as though they were members of his own crew,and they had not been shown the slightest evidences of bad blood or illfeeling on the part of the ordinary seamen. Before the day was over allthe crew had been transferred to the island, and a boatload ofprovisions had been safely landed. Sir James and his officers spent thefirst night on board ship; but on the following morning, as she showedall evidences of a speedy breaking up, a tent was made for him onshore.
A strange life now followed. The great lack felt upon the island wasthat of proper drinking-water. Conches and shellfish and land-crabsthere were in plenty. The four hundred odd men who now found themselvesmarooned on this island far removed from the usual course of trade, andbut seldom visited, had to depend upon a small pond for theirdrinking-supply. If this should be exhausted, their position would beperilous in the extreme. Two boats had been despatched to summon aid ifpossible. One to see if there were not some cruiser at Cat Island, withorders to proceed to Nassau, and the other to make for the island ofExhuma.
A little settlement composed of tents and wig-wams made from ship'swreckage soon grew up. Friend and foe mingled together in hunting forconches, or in sports to while away the time.
After a week a small vessel arrived from Cat Island, for the messagecalling for help had been received, bringing eighteen sheep and aquantity of meal, and the skipper showed where there was hidden a wellwhich the mariners had failed to discover. An empty hogshead was sunk,and a sign-post erected on which was cut "The Southampton's Well,November, 1812." For many years it stood there. The sheep did not lastlong, and soon resort was had again to the conches. On the eighth ofDecember, three English vessels arrived, the _Caledonia_, a cutter,_Rolla_, privateer, and the government brig _Rhodian_. Captain SirJames Yeo made a speech to his crew and their "guests," which was theterm he used in referring to the Vixens, in which he thanked the latterfor their assistance, their cheerfulness and good behavior, and hestated that he would do everything in his power to help get themexchanged, or provide them with a cartel to take them to their owncountry on their arrival at Jamaica, whither they were bound. Then,forming into a ragged company, arm in arm, Yankee sailors and Britishtars marched out from their little settlement, a fifer at their headsplaying The Girl I Left Behind Me. Leaving their little island to themercies of the half-breed wreckers whose small craft swarmed about,they sailed away. The rescued "guests" were prisoners again.