The capture of USS ''President'' was one of many naval actions fought at the end of the
War of 1812
The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...
. The
frigate
A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat.
The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...
tried to break out of
New York Harbor but was intercepted by a British
squadron
Squadron may refer to:
* Squadron (army), a military unit of cavalry, tanks, or equivalent subdivided into troops or tank companies
* Squadron (aviation), a military unit that consists of three or four flights with a total of 12 to 24 aircraft, ...
of four warships and forced to surrender.
Prelude
USS ''President'' was a prime target of the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
during the
War of 1812
The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...
as it was seen to have insulted British honor after the
''Little Belt'' Affair.
[Lambert] By 1815, Commodore
Stephen Decatur commanded ''President'', he had captured the smaller British frigate in a
famous action in 1812, while in command of the frigate .
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
's failed attempt at
invading Russia in 1812 would relieve many British ships from European waters allowing them to impose a strict blockade on the United States. On June 1, 1813, Decatur tried to break out of New York in USS ''United States'' and (which had been taken into the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
), but he encountered a powerful British
squadron
Squadron may refer to:
* Squadron (army), a military unit of cavalry, tanks, or equivalent subdivided into troops or tank companies
* Squadron (aviation), a military unit that consists of three or four flights with a total of 12 to 24 aircraft, ...
which drove him into
New London, Connecticut
New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States, located at the mouth of the Thames River in New London County, Connecticut. It was one of the world's three busiest whaling ports for several decades ...
. The two frigates were effectively
hulked or demilitarized in order to tow them far enough upriver to be safe from British cutting-out expeditions. Coincidentally, this was the same day of the
capture of USS ''Chesapeake'' which meant that in one day, nearly half of the United States frigates were incapacitated by British forces. By 1814, the US Navy was entirely contained with the exception of a few
sloops
A sloop is a sailboat with a single mast typically having only one headsail in front of the mast and one mainsail aft of (behind) the mast. Such an arrangement is called a fore-and-aft rig, and can be rigged as a Bermuda rig with triangular sa ...
.
The frigate was captured, the frigates , , and had been destroyed, and ''United States'', ''Macedonian'', , , were blockaded.
There was no chance of sailing in good weather, the only hope for escape was in the dangerous winter gales when the British forces would be blown offshore. Decatur tried to break out of New London in ''United States'' in early 1814, but turned back when he feared that pro-British local civilians were burning blue lights to alert the blockaders.
[Military History online article]
/ref> He and his crew of ''United States'' were transferred to the faster ''President'', which had been refitted in New York.
Meanwhile, the British squadron blockading New York consisted of the former ship of the line
A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed during the Age of Sail from the 17th century to the mid-19th century. The ship of the line was designed for the naval tactic known as the line of battle, which depended on the two colu ...
which had been razee
A razee or razée is a sailing ship that has been cut down (''razeed'') to reduce the number of decks. The word is derived from the French ''vaisseau rasé'', meaning a razed (in the sense of shaved down) ship.
Seventeenth century
During the ...
d (cut down) to create a 32-pounder frigate, the 24-pounder frigate HMS ''Forth'', and the 18-pounder frigates HMS ''Pomone'' and HMS ''Tenedos''. Commodore John Hayes was in overall command as the captain of ''Majestic''.[Lambert] The 24-pounder frigate had attempted to cut out (send the boats to board and capture) the privateer
A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...
and had lost many of her crew, and Captain Henry Hope
Henry Hope (1735–1811) was an Amsterdam merchant banker born in Braintree, Massachusetts. He emigrated to the Netherlands to join the family business Hope & Co. at a young age. From 1779, Henry became the manager of Hope & Co. and he participa ...
had expected to be sent back to Britain as ''Endymion'' by that time was an old ship (built in 1797) and her crew had been weakened by the battle.[ To his surprise, however, Admiral ]Henry Hotham
Vice-Admiral The Honourable Sir Henry Hotham (19 February 1777 – 19 April 1833) was officer of the British Royal Navy who served during the French Revolutionary, Napoleonic Wars, and the War of 1812, was later a member of the Board of Admira ...
ordered ''Endymion'' to remain on the North American Station as ''Endymion'' was the fastest ship in the Royal Navy, and he ordered some replacement crew to be drafted from the 56-gun razee . Hope went to unusual lengths to train his new crew in anticipation of imminent combat using the same methods as were used by Philip Broke
Sir Philip Bowes Vere Broke, 1st Baronet (; 9 September 1776 – 2 January 1841) was a distinguished officer in the British Royal Navy. During his lifetime, he was often referred to as "Broke of the ''Shannon''", a reference to his notable comm ...
on .[ The combination of ''Endymion''s handling, speed, 24-pounder armament and the crew's training meant that she was better prepared for battle than most other frigates.][ ''Endymion'' relieved her newer softwood ]sister ship
A sister ship is a ship of the same class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They often share a ...
''Forth'' from the New York blockade, and Hayes' squadron now consisted of ''Majestic'', ''Endymion'', ''Pomone'', and ''Tenedos''.[
]
''President''s breakout
''President'' was in New York Harbor with the sloops-of-war and , and the schooner-rigged tender . By 1815 ''President'' was overdue for repairs. Unlike the other five of the six frigates, ''President'' was not fastened with diagonal riders which caused her hull to be prone to hogging and twisting. They were preparing to break out past the British blockade to embark on cruises against British merchant shipping.[Roosevelt, p.221] A blizzard blew up from the northwest on 13 January, and the British ships were blown off their station to the southeast. Decatur determined to take advantage of the situation by breaking out with ''President'' alone. (He may have been accompanied by a merchant brig
A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the ...
, also named ''Macedonian'', carrying extra rations as a tender, but the brig does not feature in any subsequent events.)[Forester, p.206] The plan was that the smaller warships would break out later and rendezvous with ''President'' off Tristan da Cunha
Tristan da Cunha (), colloquially Tristan, is a remote group of volcanic islands in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is the most remote inhabited archipelago in the world, lying approximately from Cape Town in South Africa, from Saint Helena ...
in the South Atlantic.
Decatur immediately met with disaster. He had ordered gunboats as harbor pilots to mark the safe passage across the shoal
In oceanography, geomorphology, and geoscience, a shoal is a natural submerged ridge, bank, or bar that consists of, or is covered by, sand or other unconsolidated material and rises from the bed of a body of water to near the surface. It ...
with anchored boats at the mouth of the harbor, but they failed to do so properly[Roosevelt, p.222] and ''President'' grounded on the bar and remained stuck there for almost two hours, enduring a pounding from the wind and heavy sea. The frigate was damaged by the time that it was worked free: some copper was stripped away from the hull, the masts were twisted and some of them had developed long cracks. Decatur claimed the hull was twisted, and the bow and stern hogged on the sand bar, although it is likely that this was the case before ''President'' had even left port as she was already overdue for repairs. Decatur decided that it was impossible for ''President'' to return to port, the wind was still strong. The logs from the British squadron claimed that the gale had stopped, though strong winds persisted. Decatur headed east, keeping close to the Long Island shore before heading southeast.
While ''President'' and her crew were struggling to float off the sand bar, the British blockading squadron was fighting to return to their blockading station. As the winds slowed, the British regrouped. Hayes realized that American ships might have taken the opportunity to leave port unobserved, so he left ''Tenedos'' to watch the Sandy Hook
Sandy Hook is a barrier spit in Middletown Township, Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States.
The barrier spit, approximately in length and varying from wide, is located at the north end of the Jersey Shore. It encloses the southern ...
passage and headed north to watch the Long Island
Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...
passage, rather than heading back to the harbor entrance.
Action
The British squadron sighted ''President'' at dawn on 14 January. Decatur immediately turned downwind and tried to gain speed by lightening his ship. The winds had waned but they were still strong. In heavy seas and high winds, the largest ship will have the advantage in speed, and Hayes' ''Majestic'' gained on ''President'', as they were similar in length but ''Majestic'' was considerably heavier. The winds became more moderate at noon. After ''Majestic'' had fired some ranging shots which fell short, ''Pomone'' overtook ''Majestic'' and led the pursuit, but ''Tenedos'' appeared unexpectedly to the south and Hayes sent ''Pomone'' to investigate[ in case the sighting was another American ship. HMS ''Endymion'' overtook the rest of the British squadron. ''Endymion'' was regarded as the fastest ship in the Royal Navy, as she recorded speeds that were faster than ]clipper
A clipper was a type of mid-19th-century merchant sailing vessel, designed for speed. Clippers were generally narrow for their length, small by later 19th century standards, could carry limited bulk freight, and had a large total sail area. "C ...
ships.
In the afternoon, ''Endymion'' and ''President'' began exchanging fire using their bow and stern-chase cannon.[ At 2 pm, Captain Henry Hope took ''Endymion'' into position on ''President''s starboard quarter so that none of ''President''s stern chasers could bear.][Lambert] From this position, Hope engaged ''President'' with ''Endymion''s single brass 18-pounder bow chaser. Decatur made several attempts to close on ''Endymion'', but he discovered that ''President''s damage limited her maneuverability and exaggerated the advantage in maneuverability of the smaller ''Endymion''.[Lambert]
Faced with this new dilemma, Decatur ordered bar and chain-shot to be fired to disable ''Endymion''s sails and rigging. But ''President'' was trapped; Decatur could not escape to the north, as he would have reached the Long Island shore and been forced to the east once more; nor could he escape to the south, as ''Endymion'' would most likely slow ''President'' enough that the rest of the British squadron would catch up.[Lambert]
Hope then yawed ''Endymion'' to rake ''President''s hull, then quickly returned to position on ''President''s quarter where ''President''s guns would not bear. The first broadside sent splinters flying in the ''President''s spar deck where Decatur was standing. A large splinter hit him in the chest and knocked him over, while another cut his forehead. His First Lieutenant
First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment.
The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a s ...
was standing next to him and had his leg cut off by a splinter, and he was knocked down and through the wardroom hatch. Another splinter fatally fractured the skull of a lieutenant next to him too. The 24-pounder cannon from ''Endymion'' was more effective than the traditional 18-pounder shot that could not pierce the thick live oak sides of the United States' frigates, and three shots pierced ''President'' all the way through to the after powder room which was located beneath her mizzen step.
Hope repeated the yawing maneuver three times and did considerable damage.[Lambert][Roosevelt (1883), pp. 55–56.] At 7 pm, ''President'' brailed up her spanker and wore downwind with ''Endymion'' imitating the maneuver. Decatur had hoped to put ''Endymion'' out of the chase and escape, but ''Endymion'' aimed into ''President''s hull, specifically targeting the gun ports.[Lambert] Many members of ''President''s gun crews were cut down, significantly reducing ''President''s ability to fire back at ''Endymion''.[Lambert] By contrast, ''President'' primarily directed her fire at ''Endymion''s rigging in order to slow her down.[Cooper (1856), p. 431.][Roosevelt (1883), p. 403.]
''President'' ceased fire at 7:58 pm and hoisted a light in her rigging, indicating that she had surrendered. ''President''s rigging was in a crippled state, and she was slowed to the point that she could not escape from the rest of the British squadron which would soon be in sight.[Lambert] The damage to her hull, however, was far more severe and she had taken on of water in the hold. Her magazine had also been hit; 10 of ''President''s 15 starboard gun ports were hit by shot, and six of the guns were dismounted or damaged.
Following the standard practice, ''Endymion'' ceased fire and hove to for repairs once ''President'' had surrendered. ''Endymion'' could not immediately take possession of her prize, as she had no usable boats; Decatur took advantage of the situation, despite having struck, and made off to escape at 8:30 pm. ''Endymion'' hastily completed repairs and resumed the chase at 8:52 pm. At 9:05, ''Pomone'' and ''Tenedos'' came up with the heavily damaged ''President'', unaware that she had already struck. ''Pomone'' fired two ineffective broadsides (there was minimal damage to ''President''s starboard side) into her, following which Decatur hailed to say that he had surrendered. Shortly afterwards, Captain Lumley of ''Pomone'' took possession of ''President''. Decatur ordered his sword to be sent to the captain of the "black ship" a reference to Captain Hope of ''Endymion'' (which was unusually painted all black which can be seen in all three of the Thomas Buttersworth paintings of the action). According to British accounts, ''President'' had lost 35 men killed and 70 wounded, including Decatur; American sources give the losses at 24 killed and 55 wounded. British accounts claimed that ''Endymion'' had 11 killed and 14 wounded. ''President'' had a crew of 480 and a broadside of 816 pounds; ''Endymion'' had a crew of 346 and a broadside of 641 pounds.
Comparison of force
(English measurement methods used for both ships)
Aftermath
The damaged ''Endymion'' and ''President'' sailed in company to Bermuda
)
, anthem = "God Save the King"
, song_type = National song
, song = " Hail to Bermuda"
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, mapsize2 =
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, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
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, e ...
. They encountered a violent storm that dismasted both,[Roosevelt, p.224] but both reached safety. Official notification came soon afterwards that the war had ended. ''Endymion'' and ''President'' arrived at Spithead
Spithead is an area of the Solent and a roadstead off Gilkicker Point in Hampshire, England. It is protected from all winds except those from the southeast. It receives its name from the Spit, a sandbank stretching south from the Hampshire ...
on 28 March 1815 to a crowd of onlookers who witnessed the disparity in force between the two vessels, and the size of the American 44-gun frigates that had been victorious earlier in the war.
On 18 January 1815 aboard HMS ''Endymion'', Commodore Decatur took time to report to the Secretary of the Navy Benjamin Crowninshield his losses and difficulty in providing exact figures "Of our loss in killed & wounded I am unable to present you a correct statement, the attention of our Surgeon r. Samuel R.Trevett USNbeing so on the wounded that he was unable to make a correct return... the enclosed list with the exception I fear of its being short of the ying
Ying may refer to:
People
* Yíng (嬴), a Chinese surname, the ancestral name of Qin Shi Huang, first Emperor of China in the Qin Dynasty, and some contemporary rival royal families such as the Zhaos
* Yīng (应), a Chinese surname from the Z ...
will be found correct."[Stephen Decatur to Secretary of the Navy dated 18 January 1815 with "List of Killed & Wounded on board U.S. Frigate President" NARA M125 "Captains Letters" RG260 volume 42, letter number 50]
The British took ''President'' briefly into the Royal Navy as the 50-gun (later 60-gun) fourth-rate
In 1603 all English warships with a compliment of fewer than 160 men were known as 'small ships'. In 1625/26 to establish pay rates for officers a six tier naval ship rating system was introduced.Winfield 2009 These small ships were divided i ...
but broke up the dilapidated ship in 1818. They later built a 60-gun frigate which they also named to the exact lines of the captured ship in 1829, despite some elements of the design (countered stern) being obsolete. This ship was used as a political statement as it was commanded by George Cockburn
Admiral of the Fleet Sir George Cockburn, 10th Baronet, (22 April 1772 – 19 August 1853) was a British Royal Navy officer. As a captain he was present at the Battle of Cape St Vincent in February 1797 during the French Revolutionary Wars an ...
(who led the Burning of Washington
The Burning of Washington was a British invasion of Washington City (now Washington, D.C.), the capital of the United States, during the Chesapeake Campaign of the War of 1812. It is the only time since the American Revolutionary War that a ...
) and made flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...
of the North American station to remind the United States of its greatest losses during the War of 1812.
The smaller American ships still in New York sortied before hearing of the capture of ''President'', and reached the rendezvous off Tristan da Cunha. ''Hornet'' managed to sink the brig-sloop , after which ''Peacock'' joined forces with her. The two American ships then mistook the British ship of the line for an East Indiaman
East Indiaman was a general name for any sailing ship operating under charter or licence to any of the East India trading companies of the major European trading powers of the 17th through the 19th centuries. The term is used to refer to vesse ...
. ''Hornet'' narrowly escaped after jettisoning all her guns and most of her stores. ''Peacock'' subsequently captured several merchant ships
A merchant ship, merchant vessel, trading vessel, or merchantman is a watercraft that transports cargo or carries passengers for hire. This is in contrast to pleasure craft, which are used for personal recreation, and naval ships, which are us ...
in the Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...
until receiving confirmation that the war had ended.
See also
* List of sailing frigates of the United States Navy
This is a list of sailing frigates of the United States Navy. Frigates were the backbone of the early Navy, although the list shows that many suffered unfortunate fates.
The sailing frigates of the United States built from 1797 on were unique ...
* List of ships captured in the 19th century
Throughout naval history during times of war battles, blockades, and other patrol missions would often result in the capture of enemy ships or those of a neutral country. If a ship proved to be a valuable prize efforts would sometimes be made to ...
* Bibliography of early American naval history
Historical accounts for early U.S. naval history now occur across the spectrum of two and more centuries. This Bibliography lends itself primarily to reliable sources covering early U.S. naval history beginning around the American Revolution per ...
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
*
External links
Story of the capture of USS ''President''
Naval Chronicle
{{DEFAULTSORT:Capture Of USS President
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
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President may also refer to:
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1815 in the United States
President
President most commonly refers to:
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President may also refer to:
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President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
1815 in New York (state)
January 1815 events