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30-08-2007, 09:34
Little research is necessary to find the materials of this commander’s life. It has already employed some of the ablest pens in the country; and deservedly, for among the many who have distinguished themselves in the youthful noon of the navy of our country, few have ranked higher than Commodore William Bainbridge. By his own merit and exertion, he raised himself from the rank of a common sailor, on a merchantman, to the highest rank of the navy, and in this responsible situation conducted himself in such a manner as to win the approval of every candid mind. The honour of his nation, the dignity of his station, the respect due his own personal character, these were the interests he ever felt bound to support, and it was the magnanimous maintenance of these that procured him renown among his fellow citizens.
William Bainbridge was born at Princeton, New Jersey May 7th 1774, being descended from ancestors of high standing, who had for several generations resided in New Jersey. His father was a physician of some eminence, who removed to the city of New York shortly after the birth of his fourth son, who is subject of this memoir. Young Bainbridge was possessed of a bold and generous disposition and an athletic frame, and distinguished himself in every boyish undertaking where danger was to be encountered. John Taylor, his maternal grandfather, superintended his education, and early impressed on his mind the importance of those high moral sentiments, which were subsequently so eminently displayed in his character and actions. At the age of fifteen, he was seized with a sudden desire to go to sea, and his importunities prevailing upon his parents, he was placed onboard a merchantman about sailing from Philadelphia. When only eighteen years of age, he was promoted to the rank of first mate of a vessel in the Holland trade; and during the voyage suppressed a mutiny among the crew, and saved the life of the commander by his own intrepidity and energy of character. For this act of manly conduct, and his great nautical skill, he was appointed captain of the same vessel, at the age of nineteen.
In the year 1796, lying off Bordeaux, in command of the Hope, of Philadelphia, he was hailed by the officer of an American vessel, whose crew had risen in mutineers, but an accidental explosion of gunpowder had nearly cost him his life. The same year, with an armament of four guns and eleven men, he was fired upon by a British schooner, of eight guns and thirty men; after a brisk action, the enemy struck, being much injured in the hull and rigging, and having several men killed and wounded. As it would have been illegal to take possession of the prize, Bainbridge contended himself with hailing the captain of the schooner and telling him to go about his business, and report to his masters that if his ship was wanted they must either send a greater force or a more skilful commander.”
Some time after this event, while homeward bound, the first lieutenant of an English cruiser boarded his vessel, and one of his men impressed, on pretence of his being a Scotchman, despite the assurances of Bainbridge to the contrary. Five days after, Bainbridge fell in with an English brig of a force superior to his own, and having seized and conveyed to his own vessel one of the English marines, he hailed the captain and informed him that “he might report that Captain William Bainbridge had taken one of his Majesty’s subjects, in retaliation for a seamen taken from the American ship Hope, by Lieutenant Norton, of the Indefatigable razee, commanded by Sir Edward Pellew.” The captured seaman received good wages, and was discharged as soon as he reached an American port, in no way dissatisfied with the service into which he had been thus forced.
The bravery and decision of character manifested by Captain Bainbridge, in these little affairs, engaged the notice of the Secretary of the Navy, who appointed him to the command of the Retaliation, a vessel lately taken as a prize from the French, by Captain Decatur, father to the renowned commodore of that name. In September 1798, the retaliation in company with the Norfolk and Montezuma sailed for the West Indies, under the command of Commodore Murray. Cruising off Guadaloupe the following November, three sail were discovered to the east, supposed to be English; and two other vessels hove in sight to the westward at the same time. Commodore Murray sailed for the latter, the Norfolk accompanying him; while Bainbridge was left to examine the cruisers to the eastward, which instead of being British, as had been supposed, unfortunately proved to be French. One of the frigates, L’ Insurgente, hoisted the French flag, fre upon the Retaliation, and ordered her to strike. The other, Le Volontier, ranging alongside, commanded Bainbridge to repair onboard; who presented his sword immediately on reaching the deck. The Commodore, St. Laurent, politely declined the proffered submission, observing, “that as he had no opportunity to defend himself, he should prefer that he would retain his sword.” The two frigates immediately made sail in chase of the Montezuma and Norfolk, but as the former was a ship of some size, Commodore St Laurent felt a little apprehensive of permitting L’ Insurgente-which had far outstripped his own vessel, and was now a long distance ahead of her, -to engage single-handed with a vessel whose force might be superior to his own. He, therefore, inquired of Bainbridge as to the size of the American vessels. The shrewd Captain replied, with great coolness, that the ship carried twenty-eight twelve pounders, and the brig twenty-nine pounders, thus nearly doubling their real force. This induced the Commodore to recall the Insurgente from the chase, the captain of which returned much chagrined, declaring that he could have captured both in ten minutes, as there was not on either vessel a gun more than six pounds. St Laurent manifested great irritation at this ruse de guerre, but considering the deception as one of those frequently practised in war, and justified by the circumstances of the case, he recovered his good humour, and treated Bainbridge with great courtesy so long as he remained his prisoner.
The prize was carried into Basseterre, and her officers and crew ordered to a loathsome prisoner; but the humane interference of St Laurent procured for the officer’s permission to remain onboard the frigate. The governor of the island, General Desfourneaux, wished to treat with Lieutenant Bainbridge as the representative of his government, promising to liberate the officers and crew of the Retaliation, if he would consider the island of Guadeloupe as neutral during the war between the United States and France. Bainbridge replied that his powers extended no further than an exchange of prisoners was concerned; that he regarded himself and crew as prisoners of war; and complained deeply of the barbarous manner in which they were treated. The governor admitted the truth of his complaint; promised again and again to ameliorate their condition, which was truly deplorable; and finally placed Bainbridge and his crew in possession of the Retaliation, fitted out a cartel to convey other American prisoners, who had been confined in Guadeloupe, to the United States, and the two vessels set sail in company, with M Le Blane, the governor’s bearer of despatches to the President of the United States.
Here his whole conduct was highly approved by the government, and he was promoted to the rank of master Commandant, and put in command of the Norfolk, which his address has saved from capture. He received orders to join the cruising squadron of Commodore Truxtun, and while on his way to the station in the West Indies, he fell with a large, heavy, three-masted armed schooner, to which he gave chase; but his topmast being lost by carrying sail, he was obliged to put into St Kitt’s to repair. Here he took under charge a convoy of one hundred and nineteen sail, homeward bound. While on the passage, the convoy fell in with an enemy’s frigate, and Bainbridge, giving signal to the convoy to disperse, drew off the frigate from the merchantmen, and occupied her till nightfall, when he gave the enemy the slip, and succeeded the next day in collecting the whole fleet.
In September 1799 the Norfolk sailed from Sandy Hook for the West Indies, where Bainbridge received orders from Commodore Perry, father of the renowned Oliver H Perry, to cruise off Hispaniola. At Cape Francois, he waited on General Toussaint, who received him with great politeness, and accepted his invitation to visit him onboard his ship. Bainbridge, in return, was invited to dine with Toussaint and, during the conversation, the General inquired of him how he meant to dispose of the prisoners taken from the brigand Riego; offering, at the same time, to take charge of them, if Captain Bainbridge were willing. Being asked how he proposed to treat them, he replied that he would drum them out, and shoot them; upon which Captain Bainbridge assured him that if he were to accede to his wishes he would be in danger of being shot himself by his own government. On the 31st October, the Norfolk, with her guns housed and otherwise disguised as a merchantman, was pursued by an armed barge, which Bainbridge permitted to approach till within gunshot, when he turned about and poured into her a deadly broadside. There being a calm, the barge succeeded in escaping to shore, where the boast of the Norfolk pursued and captured her, finding six dead or dying in about the boat. Eight days after the Norfolk took the French lugger Republican, with her prize, a sloop loaded with coffee. The lugger was destroyed, and her prize sent in. Shortly after Bainbridge received orders to cruise off Havana, where he was joined by two other sloops of war, the Warren and the Pinckney. The whole force was placed under his command, and was well employed in protecting the commerce of the United States till March 1800, when his cruise being up, he returned home, and anchored off Philadelphia.
His conduct was so favourably regarded by the Presidents, that he was promoted to the rank of captain-the highest then existing in the navy; and in the following May appointed to the command of the George Washington, with orders to carry tribute to the Dey of Algiers. Having arrived at Algiers and presented the tribute, he was required by the Day to carry presents to Constantinople to conciliate the government of the sublime Porte, whom he had offended by concluding a treaty with France, when turkey was engaged in a war with Buonaparte, in Egypt. Bainbridge remonstrated in vain against this unexpected requisition. The day reminded him that he was entirely in his power, and threatened in case of his refusing to comply with his orders, to confine in slavery the crew of the frigates, and to make war on the American trade. Bainbridge finally yielded to his arbitary demands being influenced to this decision by Richard O’Brien. The American consul who had himself been imprisoned in Algiers, and was well aware of the power of the barbarian in his own territory.
The passengers, upwards of two hundred in number, and the presents, amounting to about half a million of our money, were placed onboard, and the vessel ready to sail the 19th of October when a difficulty arose in regard to the flag she was to carry. They Dey maintained that, as the frigate conveyed his ambassador, the Algerian flag should fly at the main and the American colours be carried at the fore; and Bainbridge, finding remonstrance vain, was again obliged to yield his opinion to superior force. No sooner had he passed the batteries, however than he gave the precedence to his own national ensign, and the stars and stripes waved proudly from the pinnacle-the place they so justly deserved. The voyage was a long and boisterous one. Contrary winds impeded their progress, and the crowded state of the vessel greatly interrupted the performance of its duties. The deck was crowded with cages of wild beasts for the Sultan, and the Mahometan passengers, who five times a day performed their devotions, with their faces towards Mecca, regulating their position by the compass on the binnacle, where they stationed one of their own number to give notice of any change incident to the tacking of the ship. Fearing a long detention at the castles, Bainbridge had recourse to an artifice by which to dispense with the necessity of a firman. When about entering the harbour, he fired a salute, at the same time clewing sails as if he meant to anchor. The guns at the castles, on each side, returned the salute, and being enveloped in a cloud of smoke, the frigate crowded all sail, passed the castles, and dropped anchor under the walls of Constantinople, November 9th. A messenger was sent to inquire under what flag Bainbridge sailed; he replied, the flag of the United States, when the messenger remarked that no such country as the United States had ever been heard of at the Porte, and desired him to state more explicitly whence he came. He then reported his vessel to belong to the new world, which Columbus had discovered; upon which the messenger returned on shore. He returned, after the lapse of a few hours, and presented a lamb and a bunch of flowers, emblems of peace and welcome. The governor of the castle had nearly lost his life for permitting the frigate to pass without a firman; and it was only by the generous representations of Bainbridge, -who frankly acknowledged his error, and offered to bear the consequence himself, that the Capudan Pacha was induced to with hold his signature from the governor’s death warrant.
This Capudan Pacha, whose office corresponds with that of Lord High Admiral, formed a warm friendship for Bainbridge; and being generous and well informed, and possessing greater influence at court than any other subject, this attachment proved of great service to the commander of the George Washington, during his stay at Constantinople. On his departure, the Pacha furnished him with a passport, which subsequently procured for him, and the flag under which he sailed, great respect at the hands of the Turks. While at Constantinople, Captain Bainbridge met with Daniel Clarke, the celebrated traveller, and with him made several excursions into the neighbouring country, penetrating as far as the Black sea, where were displayed for the first time the stars and stripes of republican America.
The George Washington sailed for Algiers, on the 30th of December 1800, and anchored without the harbour, on the 21st of January following. The commander resolved not again to place himself in the power of the Dey, and refused to anchor within the mole until he should promise to require no further service of himself or his vessel. The necessity of this precaution had been rendered apparent by a request, which the Dey had sent to Bainbridge to return to Constantinople with his ambassador. The pledge was at length given, though with reluctance; and soon after bringing the frigate to her new moorings, Bainbridge and the American consul were invited to wait upon the Dey, in his audience chamber. They were received with harsh words and a frowning brow, and the rage of the despot soon burst forth with a fury that threatened personal violence. Surrounded with obedient janizaries, a nod from the monarch would have cost the Americans their lives; and had not Bainbridge haply bethought himself of the Capudan Pacha’s letter of protection, the remaining moments of their lives would doubtless have been few. The paper was produced, and it acted as a charm changing the furious despot, in a moment to a mild and even servile dependant. Every profession of friendship, and every offer of service were made, and the subject of a second voyage to Constantinople was never again alluded to.
The next day, the Dey caused the flag staff of the French consul to be cut down, which amounted to a declaration of war against his government; and having no other upon which to vent his fury, he caused the consul, with all the French residents at Algiers, to be cast into prison. Bainbridge humanely interfered in their behalf, and procured their release on condition that they should leave his territory within forty-eight hours. No other vessel but the George Washington could be procured to carry them from the Dey’s power, and notwithstanding the war then existing between France and our government, Bainbridge undertook to convey them to a place of safety; and by extraordinary exertions the vessel was got ready and sailed from the harbour within an hour of the expiration of the time allowed the French to escape. He landed his passengers at Alicant, and then sailed for the United States, where he found that his conduct was highly approved by the government.
In May 1801, Captain Bainbridge, who had been retained in the service on the reduction of the number of officers, was appointed to the Essex, a man of war carrying fifty-eight twelve pounders, with orders to join a squadron about sailing for the Mediterranean. Besides the Essex, there were two other frigates, the President and the Philadelphia, and the schooner Enterprise. The squadron was under the command of Commodore Richard Dale, and its object in sailing was to protect the American commerce from the attacks of the Tripolitan cruisers. It reached Gibraltar on the 1st of July, when it fell in with two Tripolitan corsairs, commanded by a Scotch renegade, in the capacity of admiral. The frigate Philadelphia was directed to watch these vessels, while the Essex was despatched to the northern coast to collect American merchantmen, and conduct them through the straits of Gibraltar. While engaged in this duty, Captain Bainbridge and his officers received frequent insults from some of the Spanish officers at Barcelona, which appear to have been induced by jealously of the praises bestowed upon the Essex for her beauty and order. The commander displayed on this occasions his usual spirit and perseverance, and succeeded in obtaining from the offending officers a satisfactory apology. The Essex convoyed merchantmen through the straits during the winter and spring of 1802, when being in want of repairs, she was ordered home. Bainbridge was soon after appointed to the command of the Philadelphia, to cruise in the Mediterranean, under Commodore Preble. Each vessel sailed as it was ready, and the Philadelphia, with a crew of over three hundred men, entered the straits on the 24th of August. On the night of the 26th Bainbridge fell in with a ship and a brig in company, both under short canvas. Anxious to know their character, he hailed the ship, and after much evasion on the part of the captain, ascertained her to be a Moorish cruiser, the Meshtoha, with a crew of one hundred and twenty men; and was informed that the brig was an American, which they had boarded but not detained. This excited the suspicious of Bainbridge, and he sent his first lieutenant to board the Meshtoha. This attempt was resisted till an armed boat was sent, when no further opposition being made, the frigate was searched. The officers and crew of the brig were found under the hold, having been captured by the Moorish crew, nine days before. The ship was taken and the next day the brig was also captured, and with the prize, Bainbridge put into Gibraltar. He found by the papers of the Moorish commander, that he had permission from the governor of Mogadore to cruise for American vessels, although Morocco was ostensibly at peace with the United States. But this capture was a strong check to Moorish depredations, and prevented any repetition of the officers by that power.
A short time after, while cruising off Tripoli, Bain bridge was informed that a corsair belonging to this government had sailed on a cruise the day previous. Lieutenant commandant Smith, of the Vixen, was despatched in pursuit. On the 21st of October, as the Philadelphia was making sail to recover her position before Tripoli, from which she had been driven by westerly winds, at eight o’clock in the morning they perceived a vessel ahead, which proved to be one of the Bashaw’s cruisers. All sail was made in pursuit, but owing to Bainbridge’s ignorance of the soundings, and the imperfection of his charts, his vessel struck on a reef, and every attempt to force the ship over the obstacle, or back her by the stern, proved unavailing. The anchors were cut away, the guns-except those aft-and other heavy articles were cast overboard, the foremast cut away, but the frigate could not be moved from her unlucky position. Having been for five hours exposed to the fire of numerous gunboats, and a council of officers having decided that every means to get the ship off had been used, and that there was no hope of saving her, the flag was struck at four o’clock in the afternoon. Possession was taken about sunset, and the vessel entered at every port. Officers and crew were plundered, indiscriminately, of everything valuable they possessed, and almost every rag of clothing. Bainbridge submitted to their pillage, till some barbarian attempted to force from him a miniature of his wife, which he successfully resisted. About ten o’clock they were landed, and conducted to the Bashaw’s audience chamber, where after a brief interview, he ordered them to another apartment, where a supper was provided for them. They were then placed in charge of the minister of state, Sidi Moghammed dgheis, and conducted to the house of the late American consul, which was for a time to be their prison.
Their confinement was long and irksome, and terminated only with the war. The Danish consul, Mr Nissen, proved a warm friend to the American captives; procured books to relieve the tediousness of their confinement; and devised means for a correspondence between Bainbridge and Commodore Preble. The Bashaw employed all his captured seamen in business connected with their trades, or at work on the fortifications. He allowed them wages for extra work, and as they were permitted to walk through the streets, two or three at a time, they generally managed to spend the money thus obtained in purchasing grog, and then returned reeling to their prison. They were thus exposed to frequent collisions with the Tripolitans and often were punished by the bastinado, which the under slave driver, whose humanity greatly favoured them, administered with little severity. During the fast of Ramadan, the Mahometans, who are required during this period of thirty days, to show hospitality and mercy to enemies, treated the prisoners with unusual kindness. On the occasion of the Bairam festival, which immediately followed, Captain Bainbridge and his first lieutenant, Mr David Porter, were invited to the Bashaw’s palace, where this dignitary received them in great state. Having partaken of sherbet and coffee, they visited the prime minister, who received them in like manner; and then the minister of state, Sidi Mohammed Dgheis. The kind interposition of this amiable minister procured for the officers permission to ride out into the country to breathe the pure air, inhale the delightful odour of the orange groves, and forget in the beauties of nature, the hard log to which they were condemned.
On the 15th of February 1804, the Philadelphia was destroyed; and the brave Americans who had devised and achieved this brilliant enterprise, waited but sufficient force to procure their countrymen’s release. About the 1st of August, a large fleet was visible in the offing, but in consequence of a heavy gale, it soon disappeared. A few days after, the force reappeared, and then ensued the memorable attack of the 3rd of August. On the night of the 14th of September, occurred the terrible catastrophe in which the gallant Somers perished; and from this time the din of war ceased.
The moment of their relief at length arrived. The consul general for Barbary appeared off the coast, as American negotiator; and the Spanish consul, as agent for the Bashaw, was ordered to confer with him onboard the Constitution. Some little difficulties occurred to the adjustment of the terms, and the minister of state proposed that Bainbridge should go onboard the frigate, and that by his endeavours the peace might be gastened. The wily Bashaw scoffed at the proposal, believing no reliance could be placed on the word of a “Christian dog;” and it was not till the generous minister had offered his own son as a pledge for Bainbridge’s return, that the chief yielded his consent to the proposals. On the 1st June 1805, Bainbridge repaired onboard the Constitution and passed the whole day among the squadron; but he returned in the evening with little hope of the success of the negotiation. The Bashaw rejected with disdain the terms proposed by him, and Mr Nissen was sent onboard the frigate to confer with the American agent. These agreed upon the basis of a treaty, and on the next day a council was assembled by the Bashaw, to which was referred the articles for ratification of rejection. Bainbridge was invited to be present, and on his entering the coucilhall, the Bashaw informed him that he conferred on him an honour never before received by a prisoner in Barbarry, in thus admitting him to his private divan; and in order to enable him to understand the debates, he caused them to be carried on in French.
The Bashaw then proposed to the divan the question of “peace or war with the United States. The members were equally divided on the question, and the Bashaw remarked; “Four of you for peace, and four for war; which party am I to satisfy?-how am I to act?” Sidi Mahammed rose and addressed him, “You are our master-you have not called us here to dictate to you, but to hear our opinions. It remains now for you to act as you please, but let me entreat you, for your own interest, and the happiness of your people, to make peace.” The prince drew his signet from his bosom, affixed it to the treaty, and pronounced, “It is peace.” The treaty was conveyed back to the frigate; the salutes of peace followed; and thus the war terminated.
The exchange of prisoners was made, and shortly after the squadron sailed with the rescued captives, who after nineteen months passed in painful captivity, rejoiced to find themselves free, on the decks of United States men of war. A court of inquiry for the loss of the Philadelphia was held at Syrcuse, in the latter part of June, by which the officers were most honourably acquitted. His country judged fairly of Bainbridge in this affair; not a word of reproach has been against him, while his sufferings have procured him the warmest sympathy. The officers of the Philadelphia reached home in the fall of 1805, and Bainbridge hastened to see a loved family from whom he had been so long severed. In a few months he was appointed to the command of the Navy Yard at New York; but, as his pecuniary affairs were somewhat embarrassed, he procured a furlough, and for nearly two years engaged in the merchant service.
An accident happened to him while engaged in this service, which had nearly deprived his country of his subsequent valuable services, and brought him, in the flower of his age, to a watery grave. As he was returning from a visit to Captain Hays, in his own vessel, while near the Bahama bank, in the act of stepping from the boat to the Minerva, a wave struck the boat, and he was thrown between it and the ship. Unable to swim, he immediately sunk, but soon appeared at the stern of the vessel. The mate seized the main brace, and in attempting to jump off with it that he might place it in the hands of the commander, his feet became entangled in it, and he did not reach the water. Bainbridge sunk a second time, and though various articles were thrown out for him to seize, he failed in reaching any of them, and sunk a third time. While slowly sinking he perceived the deep-sea line near him, and by strong exertions, succeeded in drawing himself to the surface with its aid, when the boat much exhausted took him up. The deep-sea line had been cast out by his mulatto servant, Will on hearing that his master was overboard, and this was the means of saving his life.
In March 1808, he was appointed to the Portland station, and in December following, he received the command of the President, forty-four. A war with England was confidently expected, and the President cruised along our coast, in readiness for war, from July 1809, till the spring, when, as there appeared a likelihood of an amicable adjustment of difficulties with England, Bainbridge engaged again in the merchant service, and sailed for St Petersburgh.
On his way, he was taken by a Danish cruiser, and conveyed into Copenhagen. His friend Mr Nissen, was with him in a short time, and his exertions soon procured the release of Bainbridge’s vessel. It is mentioned, as a remarkable coincidence, that at the moment the ex-consul was apprised of Bainbridge’s arrival, he was actually employed in unpacking a silver urn, which he had just received from the officers of the Philadelphia, as a testimony of their gratitude for his former kindness.
Bainbridge, shortly after sailed up the Baltic, and continued in this trade till the action between the British vessel Little Belt, and his late ship, the President; on the news of which he crossed to the Atlantic coast over land, a distance of eleven hundred miles. During this journey, he was driven through the carelessness of the coachman, over a precipice of thirty feet, and though severely bruised, his persevering spirit enabled him to reach Gothburg, (December 20th.) On the 31st, he sailed for England, and twice in the course of the voyage, his energy and presence of mind, in moments of danger, saved the English vessel in which he sailed, and the lives of his fellow passengers from impending destruction. He delivered despatches to the American minister in London set sail for Boston and arrived there early in February, whence he hastened to Washington and reported himself as ready for active service.
But the cabinet decided against placing our few vessels of war in the contest with the powerful navy of Britain, and it was not until Captain Bainbridge and Commodore Stewart had represented in forcible language the evil effects that would result from such a course of proceeding, that their former decision was countermanded, and our men of war permitted to cruise. Having affected this grand object, Bainbridge returned to Boston, and took charge of the navy yard at Charlestown.
The United States declared war against Great Britain on the 18th of June 1812, and it is not to be supposed that one so adventurous as Bainbridge could be satisfied to remain on shore, comparatively inactive, when danger and glory were to be courted on the sea. He applied for the command of a frigate, and was appointed to the Constellation, thirty-eight, with orders to prepare her for sea with all despatch. His arrangements were not yet completed, when Captain Hall arrived in Boston with the Constitution, after achieving his splendid victory over the Guerriere. As Hull was obliged to resign his command, on account of some private affairs which required his immediate attention, Bai bridge requested to be transferred to his frigate. This request was complied with, and Essex and Hornet being also placed under his orders at the same time, he hoisted his broad pennant onboard the Constitution, September 15th 1812.
The Essex them in the Delaware, was ordered to rendezvous at the Cape de Verde isles; but she was prevented by the events of the cruise from joining the rest of the squadron. The Constitution and Hornet sailed on the 26th October, and arrived off St Salvador on the 13th December. On the 29th, in latitude 13 degrees south, and about ten leagues from the coast of Brazil, the Constitution fell in with an enemy’s frigate, the Java, bound for the East Indies, with a number of supernumerary officers and seamen for the Bombay station. The Commodore, finding the frigate fairly within the reach, prepared with alacrity for action. The stranger showed English colours, and bore down with the intention of raking the Constitution. Bainbridge avoided this, and the enemy having hauled down colours, and left flying a jack only, the Commodore gave order to fire ahead of the enemy to make him slow full colours. This was returned with a full broadside, and a general action commenced bother ships to rake and to avoid being raked.
Soon after the commencement of the action, Bainbridge received a ball in the hip; and a few minutes later a shot carried the wheel, and drove a small bolt with violence into his thigh. These injuries did not induce him to sit down, and he continued on deck, giving orders until eleven o’clock at night. The action lasted an hour and fifty-five minutes, when the enemy struck her flag, and the American Commodore sent Lieutenant Parker to take possession. Captain Lambert, a distinguished officer, who was mortally wounded, and died a few days after the battle, commanded the Java. The enemy’s loss was not less than sixty killed and one hundred wounded. The Constitution lost nine killed, and twenty-five wounded. The two vessels presented a striking contrast in appearance, at the close of the action; the Constitution “actually coming out of the battle as she had gone into it, with royal yards across, and every spar, from the highest to the lowest, in its place,” though some of them were considerably injured; while the Java lay upon the water an unmanageable wreck, with every spar shot away, and but a few stamps left standing, Bainbrdige displayed great kindness in the treatment of his prisoners, and having destroyed his prize, he landed his captives at St Salvador, on parole of honour not to engage in hostilities against the United States, until exchanged.
The Constitution soon returned home for repairs, and Bainbridge entered Boston harbour in triumph, as cordially greeted for his present successes, as he had formerly been sympathised with for his misfortunes. He resumed the command of the Charlestown yard; and remained in this office till the fitting out of a squadron for the Mediterranean, in the spring of 1815. Decatur took out this squadron to act against the Dey of Algiers; and Baibridge, who followed as chief commandant, did not arrive until the war had been brought to a successful close; but in the course of the cruise, the latter settled several difficulties with the states of Barbarry. He had under his command eighteen or twenty cruisers, being a larger naval force than had ever before sailed under our flag.
Bainbridge continued to reside at Boston until 1819, when he performed the last piece of duty afloat, in another cruise in the Mediterranean, being his fifth. He sailed in the Columbus, eighty in April 1820, the principal object of the cruise being to impress the nations on the coast with an idea of the strength of our navy, and the necessity of respecting the rights of the republic. Having affected this object, visited the Barbary powers, and spent some time at Naples, he was relieved by Commodore Jones, and returned home.
The remaining years of his life were spent in active service on land. He commanded at Charlestown and at Philadelphia; he served for three years at the head of the Board of Navy Commissioners, at Washington; and having finally been obliged to give up his command at Boston, owing to the decline of his health, and the severity of the climate, he returned to Philadelphia, in March 1832, with a constitution broken down by disease. He lingered on till the 28th of July, when he calmly yielded up his spirit to its Giver, at the age of fifty-seven years, two months and twenty-one days. His intellect remained unimpaired, till an hour or two before his death, when it occasionally wandered. He called for his pistols about this time, and as this demand was not complied with, he raised his once noble frame in his bed, and vehemently demanding these instruments, ordered all hands to be called to board the enemy!
A biographer thus portrays his personal appearance and character:
“Commodore Bainbridge was a man of fine and commanding personal appearance. His stature was about six feet, and his frame was muscular and of unusually good proportions. His face was handsome, particularly in youth, and his eye uncommonly animated and piercing. In temperament he was ardent and sanguine; but cool in danger and of a courage of proof. His feelings were vehement, and he was quickly roused; but generous and brave, he was easily appeased. Like most men who are excitable, but who are firm at bottom, he was calmest in the moments of greatest responsibility. He was hospitable, chivalrous, magnanimous, and a fast friend. His discipline was severe, but he tempered it with much consideration for the wants and health pf his crews. Few served with him who did not love him, for the conviction that his heart was right was general among all who knew him. There was cordiality and warmth in his manner, that gained him friends, and those who knew him best, say he had the art of keeping them. To his dying hour, Bainbridge continued the warm hearted friend, the chivalrous gentleman, and the devoted lover of his country’s honour and interests.”
William Bainbridge was born at Princeton, New Jersey May 7th 1774, being descended from ancestors of high standing, who had for several generations resided in New Jersey. His father was a physician of some eminence, who removed to the city of New York shortly after the birth of his fourth son, who is subject of this memoir. Young Bainbridge was possessed of a bold and generous disposition and an athletic frame, and distinguished himself in every boyish undertaking where danger was to be encountered. John Taylor, his maternal grandfather, superintended his education, and early impressed on his mind the importance of those high moral sentiments, which were subsequently so eminently displayed in his character and actions. At the age of fifteen, he was seized with a sudden desire to go to sea, and his importunities prevailing upon his parents, he was placed onboard a merchantman about sailing from Philadelphia. When only eighteen years of age, he was promoted to the rank of first mate of a vessel in the Holland trade; and during the voyage suppressed a mutiny among the crew, and saved the life of the commander by his own intrepidity and energy of character. For this act of manly conduct, and his great nautical skill, he was appointed captain of the same vessel, at the age of nineteen.
In the year 1796, lying off Bordeaux, in command of the Hope, of Philadelphia, he was hailed by the officer of an American vessel, whose crew had risen in mutineers, but an accidental explosion of gunpowder had nearly cost him his life. The same year, with an armament of four guns and eleven men, he was fired upon by a British schooner, of eight guns and thirty men; after a brisk action, the enemy struck, being much injured in the hull and rigging, and having several men killed and wounded. As it would have been illegal to take possession of the prize, Bainbridge contended himself with hailing the captain of the schooner and telling him to go about his business, and report to his masters that if his ship was wanted they must either send a greater force or a more skilful commander.”
Some time after this event, while homeward bound, the first lieutenant of an English cruiser boarded his vessel, and one of his men impressed, on pretence of his being a Scotchman, despite the assurances of Bainbridge to the contrary. Five days after, Bainbridge fell in with an English brig of a force superior to his own, and having seized and conveyed to his own vessel one of the English marines, he hailed the captain and informed him that “he might report that Captain William Bainbridge had taken one of his Majesty’s subjects, in retaliation for a seamen taken from the American ship Hope, by Lieutenant Norton, of the Indefatigable razee, commanded by Sir Edward Pellew.” The captured seaman received good wages, and was discharged as soon as he reached an American port, in no way dissatisfied with the service into which he had been thus forced.
The bravery and decision of character manifested by Captain Bainbridge, in these little affairs, engaged the notice of the Secretary of the Navy, who appointed him to the command of the Retaliation, a vessel lately taken as a prize from the French, by Captain Decatur, father to the renowned commodore of that name. In September 1798, the retaliation in company with the Norfolk and Montezuma sailed for the West Indies, under the command of Commodore Murray. Cruising off Guadaloupe the following November, three sail were discovered to the east, supposed to be English; and two other vessels hove in sight to the westward at the same time. Commodore Murray sailed for the latter, the Norfolk accompanying him; while Bainbridge was left to examine the cruisers to the eastward, which instead of being British, as had been supposed, unfortunately proved to be French. One of the frigates, L’ Insurgente, hoisted the French flag, fre upon the Retaliation, and ordered her to strike. The other, Le Volontier, ranging alongside, commanded Bainbridge to repair onboard; who presented his sword immediately on reaching the deck. The Commodore, St. Laurent, politely declined the proffered submission, observing, “that as he had no opportunity to defend himself, he should prefer that he would retain his sword.” The two frigates immediately made sail in chase of the Montezuma and Norfolk, but as the former was a ship of some size, Commodore St Laurent felt a little apprehensive of permitting L’ Insurgente-which had far outstripped his own vessel, and was now a long distance ahead of her, -to engage single-handed with a vessel whose force might be superior to his own. He, therefore, inquired of Bainbridge as to the size of the American vessels. The shrewd Captain replied, with great coolness, that the ship carried twenty-eight twelve pounders, and the brig twenty-nine pounders, thus nearly doubling their real force. This induced the Commodore to recall the Insurgente from the chase, the captain of which returned much chagrined, declaring that he could have captured both in ten minutes, as there was not on either vessel a gun more than six pounds. St Laurent manifested great irritation at this ruse de guerre, but considering the deception as one of those frequently practised in war, and justified by the circumstances of the case, he recovered his good humour, and treated Bainbridge with great courtesy so long as he remained his prisoner.
The prize was carried into Basseterre, and her officers and crew ordered to a loathsome prisoner; but the humane interference of St Laurent procured for the officer’s permission to remain onboard the frigate. The governor of the island, General Desfourneaux, wished to treat with Lieutenant Bainbridge as the representative of his government, promising to liberate the officers and crew of the Retaliation, if he would consider the island of Guadeloupe as neutral during the war between the United States and France. Bainbridge replied that his powers extended no further than an exchange of prisoners was concerned; that he regarded himself and crew as prisoners of war; and complained deeply of the barbarous manner in which they were treated. The governor admitted the truth of his complaint; promised again and again to ameliorate their condition, which was truly deplorable; and finally placed Bainbridge and his crew in possession of the Retaliation, fitted out a cartel to convey other American prisoners, who had been confined in Guadeloupe, to the United States, and the two vessels set sail in company, with M Le Blane, the governor’s bearer of despatches to the President of the United States.
Here his whole conduct was highly approved by the government, and he was promoted to the rank of master Commandant, and put in command of the Norfolk, which his address has saved from capture. He received orders to join the cruising squadron of Commodore Truxtun, and while on his way to the station in the West Indies, he fell with a large, heavy, three-masted armed schooner, to which he gave chase; but his topmast being lost by carrying sail, he was obliged to put into St Kitt’s to repair. Here he took under charge a convoy of one hundred and nineteen sail, homeward bound. While on the passage, the convoy fell in with an enemy’s frigate, and Bainbridge, giving signal to the convoy to disperse, drew off the frigate from the merchantmen, and occupied her till nightfall, when he gave the enemy the slip, and succeeded the next day in collecting the whole fleet.
In September 1799 the Norfolk sailed from Sandy Hook for the West Indies, where Bainbridge received orders from Commodore Perry, father of the renowned Oliver H Perry, to cruise off Hispaniola. At Cape Francois, he waited on General Toussaint, who received him with great politeness, and accepted his invitation to visit him onboard his ship. Bainbridge, in return, was invited to dine with Toussaint and, during the conversation, the General inquired of him how he meant to dispose of the prisoners taken from the brigand Riego; offering, at the same time, to take charge of them, if Captain Bainbridge were willing. Being asked how he proposed to treat them, he replied that he would drum them out, and shoot them; upon which Captain Bainbridge assured him that if he were to accede to his wishes he would be in danger of being shot himself by his own government. On the 31st October, the Norfolk, with her guns housed and otherwise disguised as a merchantman, was pursued by an armed barge, which Bainbridge permitted to approach till within gunshot, when he turned about and poured into her a deadly broadside. There being a calm, the barge succeeded in escaping to shore, where the boast of the Norfolk pursued and captured her, finding six dead or dying in about the boat. Eight days after the Norfolk took the French lugger Republican, with her prize, a sloop loaded with coffee. The lugger was destroyed, and her prize sent in. Shortly after Bainbridge received orders to cruise off Havana, where he was joined by two other sloops of war, the Warren and the Pinckney. The whole force was placed under his command, and was well employed in protecting the commerce of the United States till March 1800, when his cruise being up, he returned home, and anchored off Philadelphia.
His conduct was so favourably regarded by the Presidents, that he was promoted to the rank of captain-the highest then existing in the navy; and in the following May appointed to the command of the George Washington, with orders to carry tribute to the Dey of Algiers. Having arrived at Algiers and presented the tribute, he was required by the Day to carry presents to Constantinople to conciliate the government of the sublime Porte, whom he had offended by concluding a treaty with France, when turkey was engaged in a war with Buonaparte, in Egypt. Bainbridge remonstrated in vain against this unexpected requisition. The day reminded him that he was entirely in his power, and threatened in case of his refusing to comply with his orders, to confine in slavery the crew of the frigates, and to make war on the American trade. Bainbridge finally yielded to his arbitary demands being influenced to this decision by Richard O’Brien. The American consul who had himself been imprisoned in Algiers, and was well aware of the power of the barbarian in his own territory.
The passengers, upwards of two hundred in number, and the presents, amounting to about half a million of our money, were placed onboard, and the vessel ready to sail the 19th of October when a difficulty arose in regard to the flag she was to carry. They Dey maintained that, as the frigate conveyed his ambassador, the Algerian flag should fly at the main and the American colours be carried at the fore; and Bainbridge, finding remonstrance vain, was again obliged to yield his opinion to superior force. No sooner had he passed the batteries, however than he gave the precedence to his own national ensign, and the stars and stripes waved proudly from the pinnacle-the place they so justly deserved. The voyage was a long and boisterous one. Contrary winds impeded their progress, and the crowded state of the vessel greatly interrupted the performance of its duties. The deck was crowded with cages of wild beasts for the Sultan, and the Mahometan passengers, who five times a day performed their devotions, with their faces towards Mecca, regulating their position by the compass on the binnacle, where they stationed one of their own number to give notice of any change incident to the tacking of the ship. Fearing a long detention at the castles, Bainbridge had recourse to an artifice by which to dispense with the necessity of a firman. When about entering the harbour, he fired a salute, at the same time clewing sails as if he meant to anchor. The guns at the castles, on each side, returned the salute, and being enveloped in a cloud of smoke, the frigate crowded all sail, passed the castles, and dropped anchor under the walls of Constantinople, November 9th. A messenger was sent to inquire under what flag Bainbridge sailed; he replied, the flag of the United States, when the messenger remarked that no such country as the United States had ever been heard of at the Porte, and desired him to state more explicitly whence he came. He then reported his vessel to belong to the new world, which Columbus had discovered; upon which the messenger returned on shore. He returned, after the lapse of a few hours, and presented a lamb and a bunch of flowers, emblems of peace and welcome. The governor of the castle had nearly lost his life for permitting the frigate to pass without a firman; and it was only by the generous representations of Bainbridge, -who frankly acknowledged his error, and offered to bear the consequence himself, that the Capudan Pacha was induced to with hold his signature from the governor’s death warrant.
This Capudan Pacha, whose office corresponds with that of Lord High Admiral, formed a warm friendship for Bainbridge; and being generous and well informed, and possessing greater influence at court than any other subject, this attachment proved of great service to the commander of the George Washington, during his stay at Constantinople. On his departure, the Pacha furnished him with a passport, which subsequently procured for him, and the flag under which he sailed, great respect at the hands of the Turks. While at Constantinople, Captain Bainbridge met with Daniel Clarke, the celebrated traveller, and with him made several excursions into the neighbouring country, penetrating as far as the Black sea, where were displayed for the first time the stars and stripes of republican America.
The George Washington sailed for Algiers, on the 30th of December 1800, and anchored without the harbour, on the 21st of January following. The commander resolved not again to place himself in the power of the Dey, and refused to anchor within the mole until he should promise to require no further service of himself or his vessel. The necessity of this precaution had been rendered apparent by a request, which the Dey had sent to Bainbridge to return to Constantinople with his ambassador. The pledge was at length given, though with reluctance; and soon after bringing the frigate to her new moorings, Bainbridge and the American consul were invited to wait upon the Dey, in his audience chamber. They were received with harsh words and a frowning brow, and the rage of the despot soon burst forth with a fury that threatened personal violence. Surrounded with obedient janizaries, a nod from the monarch would have cost the Americans their lives; and had not Bainbridge haply bethought himself of the Capudan Pacha’s letter of protection, the remaining moments of their lives would doubtless have been few. The paper was produced, and it acted as a charm changing the furious despot, in a moment to a mild and even servile dependant. Every profession of friendship, and every offer of service were made, and the subject of a second voyage to Constantinople was never again alluded to.
The next day, the Dey caused the flag staff of the French consul to be cut down, which amounted to a declaration of war against his government; and having no other upon which to vent his fury, he caused the consul, with all the French residents at Algiers, to be cast into prison. Bainbridge humanely interfered in their behalf, and procured their release on condition that they should leave his territory within forty-eight hours. No other vessel but the George Washington could be procured to carry them from the Dey’s power, and notwithstanding the war then existing between France and our government, Bainbridge undertook to convey them to a place of safety; and by extraordinary exertions the vessel was got ready and sailed from the harbour within an hour of the expiration of the time allowed the French to escape. He landed his passengers at Alicant, and then sailed for the United States, where he found that his conduct was highly approved by the government.
In May 1801, Captain Bainbridge, who had been retained in the service on the reduction of the number of officers, was appointed to the Essex, a man of war carrying fifty-eight twelve pounders, with orders to join a squadron about sailing for the Mediterranean. Besides the Essex, there were two other frigates, the President and the Philadelphia, and the schooner Enterprise. The squadron was under the command of Commodore Richard Dale, and its object in sailing was to protect the American commerce from the attacks of the Tripolitan cruisers. It reached Gibraltar on the 1st of July, when it fell in with two Tripolitan corsairs, commanded by a Scotch renegade, in the capacity of admiral. The frigate Philadelphia was directed to watch these vessels, while the Essex was despatched to the northern coast to collect American merchantmen, and conduct them through the straits of Gibraltar. While engaged in this duty, Captain Bainbridge and his officers received frequent insults from some of the Spanish officers at Barcelona, which appear to have been induced by jealously of the praises bestowed upon the Essex for her beauty and order. The commander displayed on this occasions his usual spirit and perseverance, and succeeded in obtaining from the offending officers a satisfactory apology. The Essex convoyed merchantmen through the straits during the winter and spring of 1802, when being in want of repairs, she was ordered home. Bainbridge was soon after appointed to the command of the Philadelphia, to cruise in the Mediterranean, under Commodore Preble. Each vessel sailed as it was ready, and the Philadelphia, with a crew of over three hundred men, entered the straits on the 24th of August. On the night of the 26th Bainbridge fell in with a ship and a brig in company, both under short canvas. Anxious to know their character, he hailed the ship, and after much evasion on the part of the captain, ascertained her to be a Moorish cruiser, the Meshtoha, with a crew of one hundred and twenty men; and was informed that the brig was an American, which they had boarded but not detained. This excited the suspicious of Bainbridge, and he sent his first lieutenant to board the Meshtoha. This attempt was resisted till an armed boat was sent, when no further opposition being made, the frigate was searched. The officers and crew of the brig were found under the hold, having been captured by the Moorish crew, nine days before. The ship was taken and the next day the brig was also captured, and with the prize, Bainbridge put into Gibraltar. He found by the papers of the Moorish commander, that he had permission from the governor of Mogadore to cruise for American vessels, although Morocco was ostensibly at peace with the United States. But this capture was a strong check to Moorish depredations, and prevented any repetition of the officers by that power.
A short time after, while cruising off Tripoli, Bain bridge was informed that a corsair belonging to this government had sailed on a cruise the day previous. Lieutenant commandant Smith, of the Vixen, was despatched in pursuit. On the 21st of October, as the Philadelphia was making sail to recover her position before Tripoli, from which she had been driven by westerly winds, at eight o’clock in the morning they perceived a vessel ahead, which proved to be one of the Bashaw’s cruisers. All sail was made in pursuit, but owing to Bainbridge’s ignorance of the soundings, and the imperfection of his charts, his vessel struck on a reef, and every attempt to force the ship over the obstacle, or back her by the stern, proved unavailing. The anchors were cut away, the guns-except those aft-and other heavy articles were cast overboard, the foremast cut away, but the frigate could not be moved from her unlucky position. Having been for five hours exposed to the fire of numerous gunboats, and a council of officers having decided that every means to get the ship off had been used, and that there was no hope of saving her, the flag was struck at four o’clock in the afternoon. Possession was taken about sunset, and the vessel entered at every port. Officers and crew were plundered, indiscriminately, of everything valuable they possessed, and almost every rag of clothing. Bainbridge submitted to their pillage, till some barbarian attempted to force from him a miniature of his wife, which he successfully resisted. About ten o’clock they were landed, and conducted to the Bashaw’s audience chamber, where after a brief interview, he ordered them to another apartment, where a supper was provided for them. They were then placed in charge of the minister of state, Sidi Moghammed dgheis, and conducted to the house of the late American consul, which was for a time to be their prison.
Their confinement was long and irksome, and terminated only with the war. The Danish consul, Mr Nissen, proved a warm friend to the American captives; procured books to relieve the tediousness of their confinement; and devised means for a correspondence between Bainbridge and Commodore Preble. The Bashaw employed all his captured seamen in business connected with their trades, or at work on the fortifications. He allowed them wages for extra work, and as they were permitted to walk through the streets, two or three at a time, they generally managed to spend the money thus obtained in purchasing grog, and then returned reeling to their prison. They were thus exposed to frequent collisions with the Tripolitans and often were punished by the bastinado, which the under slave driver, whose humanity greatly favoured them, administered with little severity. During the fast of Ramadan, the Mahometans, who are required during this period of thirty days, to show hospitality and mercy to enemies, treated the prisoners with unusual kindness. On the occasion of the Bairam festival, which immediately followed, Captain Bainbridge and his first lieutenant, Mr David Porter, were invited to the Bashaw’s palace, where this dignitary received them in great state. Having partaken of sherbet and coffee, they visited the prime minister, who received them in like manner; and then the minister of state, Sidi Mohammed Dgheis. The kind interposition of this amiable minister procured for the officers permission to ride out into the country to breathe the pure air, inhale the delightful odour of the orange groves, and forget in the beauties of nature, the hard log to which they were condemned.
On the 15th of February 1804, the Philadelphia was destroyed; and the brave Americans who had devised and achieved this brilliant enterprise, waited but sufficient force to procure their countrymen’s release. About the 1st of August, a large fleet was visible in the offing, but in consequence of a heavy gale, it soon disappeared. A few days after, the force reappeared, and then ensued the memorable attack of the 3rd of August. On the night of the 14th of September, occurred the terrible catastrophe in which the gallant Somers perished; and from this time the din of war ceased.
The moment of their relief at length arrived. The consul general for Barbary appeared off the coast, as American negotiator; and the Spanish consul, as agent for the Bashaw, was ordered to confer with him onboard the Constitution. Some little difficulties occurred to the adjustment of the terms, and the minister of state proposed that Bainbridge should go onboard the frigate, and that by his endeavours the peace might be gastened. The wily Bashaw scoffed at the proposal, believing no reliance could be placed on the word of a “Christian dog;” and it was not till the generous minister had offered his own son as a pledge for Bainbridge’s return, that the chief yielded his consent to the proposals. On the 1st June 1805, Bainbridge repaired onboard the Constitution and passed the whole day among the squadron; but he returned in the evening with little hope of the success of the negotiation. The Bashaw rejected with disdain the terms proposed by him, and Mr Nissen was sent onboard the frigate to confer with the American agent. These agreed upon the basis of a treaty, and on the next day a council was assembled by the Bashaw, to which was referred the articles for ratification of rejection. Bainbridge was invited to be present, and on his entering the coucilhall, the Bashaw informed him that he conferred on him an honour never before received by a prisoner in Barbarry, in thus admitting him to his private divan; and in order to enable him to understand the debates, he caused them to be carried on in French.
The Bashaw then proposed to the divan the question of “peace or war with the United States. The members were equally divided on the question, and the Bashaw remarked; “Four of you for peace, and four for war; which party am I to satisfy?-how am I to act?” Sidi Mahammed rose and addressed him, “You are our master-you have not called us here to dictate to you, but to hear our opinions. It remains now for you to act as you please, but let me entreat you, for your own interest, and the happiness of your people, to make peace.” The prince drew his signet from his bosom, affixed it to the treaty, and pronounced, “It is peace.” The treaty was conveyed back to the frigate; the salutes of peace followed; and thus the war terminated.
The exchange of prisoners was made, and shortly after the squadron sailed with the rescued captives, who after nineteen months passed in painful captivity, rejoiced to find themselves free, on the decks of United States men of war. A court of inquiry for the loss of the Philadelphia was held at Syrcuse, in the latter part of June, by which the officers were most honourably acquitted. His country judged fairly of Bainbridge in this affair; not a word of reproach has been against him, while his sufferings have procured him the warmest sympathy. The officers of the Philadelphia reached home in the fall of 1805, and Bainbridge hastened to see a loved family from whom he had been so long severed. In a few months he was appointed to the command of the Navy Yard at New York; but, as his pecuniary affairs were somewhat embarrassed, he procured a furlough, and for nearly two years engaged in the merchant service.
An accident happened to him while engaged in this service, which had nearly deprived his country of his subsequent valuable services, and brought him, in the flower of his age, to a watery grave. As he was returning from a visit to Captain Hays, in his own vessel, while near the Bahama bank, in the act of stepping from the boat to the Minerva, a wave struck the boat, and he was thrown between it and the ship. Unable to swim, he immediately sunk, but soon appeared at the stern of the vessel. The mate seized the main brace, and in attempting to jump off with it that he might place it in the hands of the commander, his feet became entangled in it, and he did not reach the water. Bainbridge sunk a second time, and though various articles were thrown out for him to seize, he failed in reaching any of them, and sunk a third time. While slowly sinking he perceived the deep-sea line near him, and by strong exertions, succeeded in drawing himself to the surface with its aid, when the boat much exhausted took him up. The deep-sea line had been cast out by his mulatto servant, Will on hearing that his master was overboard, and this was the means of saving his life.
In March 1808, he was appointed to the Portland station, and in December following, he received the command of the President, forty-four. A war with England was confidently expected, and the President cruised along our coast, in readiness for war, from July 1809, till the spring, when, as there appeared a likelihood of an amicable adjustment of difficulties with England, Bainbridge engaged again in the merchant service, and sailed for St Petersburgh.
On his way, he was taken by a Danish cruiser, and conveyed into Copenhagen. His friend Mr Nissen, was with him in a short time, and his exertions soon procured the release of Bainbridge’s vessel. It is mentioned, as a remarkable coincidence, that at the moment the ex-consul was apprised of Bainbridge’s arrival, he was actually employed in unpacking a silver urn, which he had just received from the officers of the Philadelphia, as a testimony of their gratitude for his former kindness.
Bainbridge, shortly after sailed up the Baltic, and continued in this trade till the action between the British vessel Little Belt, and his late ship, the President; on the news of which he crossed to the Atlantic coast over land, a distance of eleven hundred miles. During this journey, he was driven through the carelessness of the coachman, over a precipice of thirty feet, and though severely bruised, his persevering spirit enabled him to reach Gothburg, (December 20th.) On the 31st, he sailed for England, and twice in the course of the voyage, his energy and presence of mind, in moments of danger, saved the English vessel in which he sailed, and the lives of his fellow passengers from impending destruction. He delivered despatches to the American minister in London set sail for Boston and arrived there early in February, whence he hastened to Washington and reported himself as ready for active service.
But the cabinet decided against placing our few vessels of war in the contest with the powerful navy of Britain, and it was not until Captain Bainbridge and Commodore Stewart had represented in forcible language the evil effects that would result from such a course of proceeding, that their former decision was countermanded, and our men of war permitted to cruise. Having affected this grand object, Bainbridge returned to Boston, and took charge of the navy yard at Charlestown.
The United States declared war against Great Britain on the 18th of June 1812, and it is not to be supposed that one so adventurous as Bainbridge could be satisfied to remain on shore, comparatively inactive, when danger and glory were to be courted on the sea. He applied for the command of a frigate, and was appointed to the Constellation, thirty-eight, with orders to prepare her for sea with all despatch. His arrangements were not yet completed, when Captain Hall arrived in Boston with the Constitution, after achieving his splendid victory over the Guerriere. As Hull was obliged to resign his command, on account of some private affairs which required his immediate attention, Bai bridge requested to be transferred to his frigate. This request was complied with, and Essex and Hornet being also placed under his orders at the same time, he hoisted his broad pennant onboard the Constitution, September 15th 1812.
The Essex them in the Delaware, was ordered to rendezvous at the Cape de Verde isles; but she was prevented by the events of the cruise from joining the rest of the squadron. The Constitution and Hornet sailed on the 26th October, and arrived off St Salvador on the 13th December. On the 29th, in latitude 13 degrees south, and about ten leagues from the coast of Brazil, the Constitution fell in with an enemy’s frigate, the Java, bound for the East Indies, with a number of supernumerary officers and seamen for the Bombay station. The Commodore, finding the frigate fairly within the reach, prepared with alacrity for action. The stranger showed English colours, and bore down with the intention of raking the Constitution. Bainbridge avoided this, and the enemy having hauled down colours, and left flying a jack only, the Commodore gave order to fire ahead of the enemy to make him slow full colours. This was returned with a full broadside, and a general action commenced bother ships to rake and to avoid being raked.
Soon after the commencement of the action, Bainbridge received a ball in the hip; and a few minutes later a shot carried the wheel, and drove a small bolt with violence into his thigh. These injuries did not induce him to sit down, and he continued on deck, giving orders until eleven o’clock at night. The action lasted an hour and fifty-five minutes, when the enemy struck her flag, and the American Commodore sent Lieutenant Parker to take possession. Captain Lambert, a distinguished officer, who was mortally wounded, and died a few days after the battle, commanded the Java. The enemy’s loss was not less than sixty killed and one hundred wounded. The Constitution lost nine killed, and twenty-five wounded. The two vessels presented a striking contrast in appearance, at the close of the action; the Constitution “actually coming out of the battle as she had gone into it, with royal yards across, and every spar, from the highest to the lowest, in its place,” though some of them were considerably injured; while the Java lay upon the water an unmanageable wreck, with every spar shot away, and but a few stamps left standing, Bainbrdige displayed great kindness in the treatment of his prisoners, and having destroyed his prize, he landed his captives at St Salvador, on parole of honour not to engage in hostilities against the United States, until exchanged.
The Constitution soon returned home for repairs, and Bainbridge entered Boston harbour in triumph, as cordially greeted for his present successes, as he had formerly been sympathised with for his misfortunes. He resumed the command of the Charlestown yard; and remained in this office till the fitting out of a squadron for the Mediterranean, in the spring of 1815. Decatur took out this squadron to act against the Dey of Algiers; and Baibridge, who followed as chief commandant, did not arrive until the war had been brought to a successful close; but in the course of the cruise, the latter settled several difficulties with the states of Barbarry. He had under his command eighteen or twenty cruisers, being a larger naval force than had ever before sailed under our flag.
Bainbridge continued to reside at Boston until 1819, when he performed the last piece of duty afloat, in another cruise in the Mediterranean, being his fifth. He sailed in the Columbus, eighty in April 1820, the principal object of the cruise being to impress the nations on the coast with an idea of the strength of our navy, and the necessity of respecting the rights of the republic. Having affected this object, visited the Barbary powers, and spent some time at Naples, he was relieved by Commodore Jones, and returned home.
The remaining years of his life were spent in active service on land. He commanded at Charlestown and at Philadelphia; he served for three years at the head of the Board of Navy Commissioners, at Washington; and having finally been obliged to give up his command at Boston, owing to the decline of his health, and the severity of the climate, he returned to Philadelphia, in March 1832, with a constitution broken down by disease. He lingered on till the 28th of July, when he calmly yielded up his spirit to its Giver, at the age of fifty-seven years, two months and twenty-one days. His intellect remained unimpaired, till an hour or two before his death, when it occasionally wandered. He called for his pistols about this time, and as this demand was not complied with, he raised his once noble frame in his bed, and vehemently demanding these instruments, ordered all hands to be called to board the enemy!
A biographer thus portrays his personal appearance and character:
“Commodore Bainbridge was a man of fine and commanding personal appearance. His stature was about six feet, and his frame was muscular and of unusually good proportions. His face was handsome, particularly in youth, and his eye uncommonly animated and piercing. In temperament he was ardent and sanguine; but cool in danger and of a courage of proof. His feelings were vehement, and he was quickly roused; but generous and brave, he was easily appeased. Like most men who are excitable, but who are firm at bottom, he was calmest in the moments of greatest responsibility. He was hospitable, chivalrous, magnanimous, and a fast friend. His discipline was severe, but he tempered it with much consideration for the wants and health pf his crews. Few served with him who did not love him, for the conviction that his heart was right was general among all who knew him. There was cordiality and warmth in his manner, that gained him friends, and those who knew him best, say he had the art of keeping them. To his dying hour, Bainbridge continued the warm hearted friend, the chivalrous gentleman, and the devoted lover of his country’s honour and interests.”