The Shining Sea (50 page)

Prologue

2
        
Nothing Porter did had the slightest effect on the
Alert:
Captain David Porter to Secretary of the Navy Paul Hamilton, Sept. 3, 1812, in William S. Dudley, ed.,
The Naval War of 1812: A Documentary History
(Washington, DC: Naval Historical Center, Department of the Navy, 1985), 1:443–447.

2
        
Porter quickly put up the Essex's helm:
Porter to Hamilton, Sept. 3, 1812, in Dudley, ed.,
Naval War of 1812,
1:444; William M. James,
The Naval History of Great Britain: During the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars
(Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 2002; first published in 1817), 6:88–89.

3
        
The
Alert
turned out to be a former collier:
Porter to Hamilton, Aug. 15, 1812, in Dudley, ed.,
Naval War of 1812,
1:218–19.

3
        
Porter sent First Lieutenant John Downes:
Porter to Hamilton, Sept. 3, 1812, in Dudley, ed.,
Naval War of 1812
, 1:445–46.

4
        
Porter took the Alert's officers and the better part:
Porter to Hamilton, Sept. 2, 1812 in Dudley, ed.,
Naval War of 1812
, 1:443–47.

6
        
standing beside the hammock of Midshipman David Farragut:
Loyall Farragut,
The Life of David Glasgow Farragut
(New York: Appleton, 1879), 16–17.

6
        
Porter now turned for home to Chester:
John Hill Martin,
Chester and Its Vicinity
(Philadelphia: William H. Pile & Sons, 1877), 313.

6
        
Porter knew before the uprising that having:
Porter to Hamilton, Sept. 5, 1812, in Dudley, ed.,
Naval War of 1812
, 1:462–63; Farragut,
Life of David Glasgow Farragut,
17.

8
        
As the
Essex
traveled home, Porter felt:
Porter to Hamilton, Sept. 3, 1812; Porter to Bainbridge, Sept. 8, 1812, in Dudley, ed.,
Naval War of 1812,
1:443–47 and 468–69; Porter to Hambleton, September 7, 1812, in David Dixon Porter,
Memoir of Commodore David Dixon Porter of the United States Navy
(Albany: J. Munsell, 1875), 97.

Chapter One: President Madison's War Plan

9
        
David Porter's victory over the
Alert
came as a surprise:
Dudley, ed.,
Naval War of 1812,
1:180–82.

11
      
America's second War of Independence:
George C. Daughan,
If By Sea: The Forging of the American Navy from the Revolution to the War of 1812
(New York: Basic Books, 2008), 236.

14
      
Rodgers had written on June 3:
Commodore John Rodgers to Secretary Hamilton, June 3, 1812, in Dudley, ed.,
Naval War of 1812
, 1:119–22.

15
      
Stephen Decatur, the navy's most celebrated captain:
Captain Decatur to Secretary Hamilton, June 8, 1812, in Dudley, ed.,
Naval War of 1812
, 1:122–24.

15
      
It was a course recommended by his friend William Jones:
Secretary of the Navy to Commodore John Rodgers, Sept. 9, 1812, in Dudley, ed.,
Naval War of 1812,
1:471.

15
      
Once Porter reached the Delaware River he was informed:
Bainbridge to Porter, Oct. 13, 1812, in Dudley, ed.,
Naval War of 1812
, 1:527–28.

Chapter Two: The Making of a Sea Warrior

18
      
mostly in privateers:
David Dixon Porter,
Memoir of Commodore David Porter,
8.

18
      
The elder Porter's sea stories stirred the imagination:
Washington Irving,
Analectic Magazine
(Sept. 5, 1814), 22.

18
      
In 1875, he would write of his father:
David Dixon Porter,
Memoir of Commodore David Porter
, 10.

18
      
Young Porter began his naval career in 1796:
Federal Gazette (Baltimore), March 1796; David Dixon Porter,
Memoir of Commodore David Porter
, 10–11.

19
      
This was young Porter's first encounter with impressment:
David Dixon Porter,
Memoir of Commodore David Porter
, 12–13.

19
      
Given his family background and experience:
David Porter,
Constantinople and Its Environs
(New York: Harper & Brothers, 1835), 2:10.

19
      
In fact, Porter could not have found a better teacher:
Retired Vice Admiral George Emery, “Thomas Truxtun: First Mentor of the Federal Navy,”
Pull Together: Newsletter of the Naval Historical Foundation
(Fall/Winter 2010–2011): 12–14.

19
      
Porter did not get along with one particular officer:
David Dixon Porter,
Memoir of Commodore David Porter
, 19–20.

19
      
On February 9, 1799, the Constellation
became embroiled:
Eugene S. Ferguson,
Truxtun of the Constellation: The Life of Commodore Thomas Truxtun, U.S. Navy, 1755–1822
(Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1982), 162–67. For a contrary view of what happened to Rodgers and Porter after the battle, see Charles Goldsborough,
The United States Naval Chronicle
(Washington, DC: James Wilson, 1824), 132–33, and David Long,
Nothing Too Daring: A Biography of Commodore David Porter, 1780–1843
(Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1970), 9.

20
      
As the Quasi-War progressed, Porter continued:
David Dixon Porter,
Memoir of Commodore David Porter
, 29–37; Long,
Nothing Too Daring,
12–13.

21
      
Porter's next ship was the
Constitution:
Long,
Nothing Too Daring
, 14.

21
      
The Quasi-War with France ended on March 3, 1801:
Ferguson,
Truxtun of the Constellation,
164–72.

22
      
When Sterrett arrived in the Mediterranean with Porter:
Long,
Nothing Too Daring,
21.

24
      
Together with the shallow draught
Vixen:
The
Vixen
was designed by Benjamin Hutton and built in Maryland, as the
Enterprise
had been.

24
      
Bainbridge and Porter worked well together:
David Dixon Porter,
Memoir of Commodore David Porter,
56–57.

Chapter Three: Disaster in Tripoli

25
      
David Porter was anxious to distinguish himself in Tripoli:
Daughan,
If By Sea
, 353–54.

26
      
Soon after, Bainbridge became involved:
David Long,
Ready to Hazard: A Biography of Commodore William Bainbridge, 1774–1833
(Hanover, NH: University Press of New England, 1981), 63.

27
      
The
Philadelphia
and the
Vixen
arrived off Tripoli:
Bainbridge to Preble, Oct. 22, 1803, in Dudley W. Knox, ed.,
Naval Documents Related to the
United States Wars with the Barbary Powers
(Washington, DC: 1939–1944), 3:159.

27
      
“My motives of ordering her off Cape Bon”:
Bainbridge to Preble, Nov. 1, 1803, in Knox, ed.,
Naval Documents
, 3:171.

27
      
“At 9 A.M., about five leagues eastward of Tripoli”:
Bainbridge to the Secretary of the Navy, Nov. 1, 1803, in Knox, ed.,
Naval Documents,
3:171–72.

27
      
“About 11 o'clock [I] had approached”:
Porter testimony during Court of Inquiry on
Philadelphia
, June 29, 1805, in Knox ed.,
Naval Documents,
3:189–94.

28
      
They both recognized that the
Philadelphia
was in serious danger:
Bainbridge to Secretary of the Navy Robert Smith, Nov. 1, 1804, in Thomas Harris,
The Life and Services of Commodore William Bainbridge, United States Navy
(Philadelphia, 1837. Reprint, Whitefish, MT: Kessinger, 2007), 80; Bainbridge to Preble, Nov. 1, 1803, in Knox, ed.,
Naval Documents,
3:171.

28
      
Reacting quickly, Bainbridge, at Porter's urging:
Bainbridge to Secretary of the Navy, Nov. 1, 1803, in Knox, ed.,
Naval Documents,
3:171–72.

29
      
With Porter continuing to advise him:
Porter to Midshipman Henry Wadsorth, 3/5/1804 (while Porter was in prison), in Knox, ed.,
Naval Documents,
3:475–76.

29
      
Four hours went by in this desperate struggle:
Porter testimony at the Court of Inquiry, in Knox, ed.,
Naval Documents,
3:190. 29
Their situation was now desperate:
Porter to Henry Wadsworth, March 5, 1804, in Knox, ed.,
Naval Documents,
3:290; Court Inquiring into the loss of U.S. Frigate
Philadelphia
, in Knox, ed.,
Naval Documents,
3:190–194 and 475–76.

29
      
“In such a dilemma, too painful to relate”:
Bainbridge to Preble, Nov. 12, 1803, in Knox, ed.,
Naval Documents,
3:174.

29
      
“Some fanatics,” Bainbridge told Preble:
Ibid.

30
      
Before surrendering, Bainbridge ordered all the arms:
Christopher McKee,
Edward Preble: A Naval Biography, 1761–1807
(Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1996; first edition, 1972), 180.

30
      
Unfortunately, Bainbridge's humiliations were compounded:
William Ray,
Horrors of Slavery, or, American Tars in Tripoli
(Troy, NY: Printed by O. Lyon for the author, 1808), 82; David Long,
Sailor-Diplomat: A Biography of Commodore James Biddle, 1783–1848
(Boston: Northeastern University Press, 1983), 21–22.

30
      
Around six P.M., the Tripolitans swarmed:
Bainbridge to Tobias Lear, U.S. Consul General, Algiers, Feb. 8, 1804 (received April 21, 1804), in Knox, ed.,
Naval Documents,
3:

30
      
To add to Porter's misery and shame:
Bainbridge to Preble, Nov. 6, 1803, in Knox, ed.,
Naval Documents,
3:173; McKee,
Edward Preble,
180.

31
      
“If my professional character be blotched”:
William Bainbridge to Susan Bainbridge, Nov. 1, 1803, in Thomas Harris,
The Life and Services of Commodore William Bainbridge, United States Navy
(Philadelphia: Carey Lea & Blanchard, 1837), 91–93.

31
      
“Would to God, that the officers and crew”:
Preble to the secretary of the navy, Dec. 10, 1803, in Knox, ed.,
Naval Documents,
3:180.

32
      
With books provided by Nissen, Porter now studied history, French:
David Dixon Porter,
Memoir of Commodore David Porter
, 63.

32
      
As might be expected, the crew received:
Journal of Surgeon Jonathan Cowdery, U.S. Navy, from Oct. 31, 1803 to March 1804
, in Knox, ed.,
Naval Documents,
3:529–32.

33
      
Meanwhile, Bainbridge managed to send letters:
Long,
Nothing Too Daring,
26–27; Frederick C. Leiner,
Millions for Defense: The Subscription Warships of 1798
(Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 2000), 71.

33
      
On February 16, 1804, Decatur:
Surgeon John Ridgely to Susan Decatur, Nov. 10, 1826, in Knox, ed.,
Naval Documents
, 3:425.

33
      
The new treatment was so severe:
Chipp Reid,
Intrepid Sailors: The Legacy of Preble's Boys and the Tripoli Campaign
(Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 2012), 114–121.

34
      
“I have zealously served my country”:
Bainbridge to Preble, Nov. 12, 1803, in Knox, ed.,
Naval Documents,
3:174.

35
      
Preble wrote to the secretary of the navy:
Edward Preble to Secretary of the Navy Robert Smith, Feb. 1804, in Reid,
Intrepid Sailors
, 106–7.