24-pounders on the main deck, and 20 carronades, 1813. 32-pounders, and two long nines, on the quarterdeck and forecastle, total 50 guns; with a complement of 350 men and boys. The chief complaint against these frigates was, as may be conjectured, that their quarters were rather too confined. A class like the Egyptienne, mounting the same number and nature of guns as the Forth's class, with a crew of 420 good men, would have been quite as heavy a frigate as the British, with a due regard to their established character on the ocean, ought to have constructed, if they constructed any at all, to meet the large american frigates. crease 36 gun of the with um 24 But the rage for frigate-building in this year did Innot stop at the Endymion's class. As many as 26 of of the the two principal 18-pounder classes were ordered to 38 and be built, chiefly, for expedition-sake and to save classes. expense, of the red and yellow pine. Some of these, too, were to be fitted with medium 24-pounders instead of their long 18s, and were to have a complement of 330 men and boys. The six and a half feet, 33 cwt. 24-pounder, or Gover's gun, not having been found heavy enough to fire two shot, Some some guns of the same caliber were constructed, former from a foot to a foot and a half longer, and weighing fitted from 40 to 43 cwt. One description of these guns mediwas found fully to answer; and we shall by and by have more to say of them. As it turned out, no shot fired from a long or a medium 24-pounder, except in the single instance of a british ship which had been in the service since the year 1797, struck or fell on board an american frigate. The promulgated Effect intention, to arm british frigates with such guns, was of this quite enough to inspire the Americans with caution; ledge and accordingly the Java was the last british frigate upon they captured or brought to action, but not, as we Amerishall hereafter see, the last they fell in with. After all, cans. therefore, it is a question, whether it would not have been sufficient, without cutting down Majestics and Goliaths, or building Leanders and Newcastles, to pdrs. know the 1813. have made the Macedonian's fine class as effective as it ought to have been; and, as the chief means of doing so, to have given to each 38-gun frigate, sent cruising to the westward, a well-trained crew of 370 men. Ameri can Some of the minor classes of ships of war now sloops claim our attention; and we shall soon have a set of of war. cases to record, which will show that the Americans as much outbuilt the British in their "sloops," as they had outwitted and outfought them in their" frigates." The two principal classes of sloops of war, at this time belonging to the british navy, were the quarterdecked 18-gun ship-sloop, of about 430 tons, mounting 18 carronades, 32-pounders, on the main deck, and on the quarterdeck and forecastle six carronades, 12 or 18 pounders, and two sixes, total 26 guns, A with 121 men and boys; and the well-known 18-gun decked brig-sloop, mounting no more guns than she rated. class As a match for the first class, it was proposed to posed. congress, in November, 1812, to build a few sloops quarter pro of war to mount 16 long 12-pounders on the main deck, and 12 carronades, 24-pounders, on the quarterdeck and forecastle, total 28 guns; with a complement of 180 men. The size is not mentioned, but a ship, so armed, could not measure less than 560 or A flush 570 tons. Whether it was decided to vote all the decked class ferred. british quarterdecked ship-sloops "small frigates,' pre- and consequently superior to any vessels bearing the denomination of "sloops," or whatever else may have been the reason, the american quarterdecked sloop was laid aside, and the preference was given to a flush-decked ship, to mount 20 carronades, 32pounders, and two long. 18-pounders, with a crew of 175 men, and to measure 509 tons american, or 540 tons english. These were to rate of 18 guns, and to be considered as a fair match for the british 18gun brig-sloop, which, from the concurrent testimony of such men of veracity as captain David Porter and captain Jacob Jones,* mounted 22 guns. * See pp. 129, 163. oppose of Ame rica de of eve Three of the new american sloops were soon 1813, afloat, the Peacock, Wasp, and Frolic; and, to be ready to meet these upon equal terms, 18 flush British ships were ordered to be built of fir, with all possible sloops despatch. Having in their possession the Andro- built to meda, (late the american merchant ship Hannibal,) of those 24 guns on a flush-deck, an extraordinary fine ric ship of 812 tons, the late french corvette Bonne- ficient Citoyenne, and the two ships built after her, the Hermes and Myrmidon, the British could be at no quality loss for a proper model. Well, what did they do? Why, one of the lords of the admiralty recommended a draught to be prepared upon the reduced lines of the Bonne-Citoyenne. To what extent the reduction went, and whether an augmentation of size would not have better answered the intended purpose, will be seen by the following statement. Bonne-Citoyenne American Frolic.... 511 No. ft. in. ft. in. Where so much deference was officially due, science had to bow the head, and sir Joseph Yorke soon had the satisfaction of seeing his "improved Bonne-Citoyennes" afloat and fitting in all the principal dépôts of Great Britain. To diminish a vessel's capacity, and at the same time to increase her armament, was an odd way of improving her qualities. Scarcely were the twenty 32-pounder carronades and two long nines brought on board, than two of the carronades were sent on shore again, as having no proper ports fitted to receive them. Already the remaining 20 guns were too close together, to render the quarters sufficiently roomy. With these, however, the ships went to sea; and they were soon found neither to work well, nor to sail well. The utility of their stern-chase ports may be judged when it is stated, that, owing to the narrowness of the ships at the stern, ry good 1813. there was no room to work the tiller while the guns were pointed through the ports. Of this discreditable oversight and its evil consequences, we shall hereafter have to give a practical illustration. A proof afford Of the relative stoutness of the spars of the british ed of and american sloops of war, thus pitted against the in- each other by the order of the board of admiralty, ency of some idea may be formed, when it is stated, that the masts. girth, just above the deck, of the mainmast of one suffici their mode ships of the latter, the Frolic, was 7 feet 8 inches; whereas the mainmast established upon the former class measured, at the same place, only 5 feet 8 inches. The Cyrus, if not most of the others, was "doubled," so as to increase her beam about 10 inches, and enable the ship to keep the sea in a gale of wind; and we remember seeing the Medina, at the king's dock-yard in Halifax, Nova-Scotia, having her lower masts fished, to prevent them from snapping in two with the weight of the top-gear above. Aready While the cutting-down system was pursuing, a of pro- mode presented itself of quickly getting ready a few ducing ships, equal in size and force to the large american equal sloops. The 10 ships of the M class in the Abstracts to the averaged 534 tons, and mounted 22 carronades, 32-pounders, on the main deck. By having their sloops. quarterdecks and forecastles cut away, these ships ameri can would have been much improved in sailing and seaworthiness; and then, with two long 9 or 12 pounders in lieu of their two foremost carronades, and with their complement increased to 173 men and boys, they would have been far superior vessels to those built under the auspices of the gallant admiral. Even a precedent was not wanted. The Hyæna, of a similar construction to the ships of the abovementioned class, was, when taken by the French in 1793, cut down to the clamps of her quarterdeck and forecastle, and became a very fast-sailing and successful privateer. On her subsequent recapture by the British in 1797, the Hyæna was allowed to remain as a flush-ship, and was armed precisely in the manner above recommended.* The height between 1813. the decks of ships of war must, for obvious reasons, be nearly the same; consequently the proportion of top-weight increases, as the length, breadth, and below-water depth of the vessel diminishes. This is the reason that frigate-built ships below 580 or 600 tons, carrying eight or ten guns upon the quarterdeck and forecastle, are usually so crank and ́unsafe; and one cause of their sailing so ill is, that their masts must be shorter, and their sails smaller, to counteract the strong heeling propensity of their hulls. british en coun by an sloop. Fortunately for the honour of the captains ap- No pointed to the new 20-gun ships, some newspaper of shipthe day exaggerated their force and size, and sloop extolled them as very formidable vessels. The cour consequence was, that the Wasp, Frolic, Peacock, tered and Hornet avoided every three-masted man of war amerithey fell in with; confining the exercise of their can prowess to the british brig-sloop, the utmost extent of whose force was well known to them. While we are making this assertion, we bear fully in mind the chaffing that took place between the Hornet and the Bonne-Citoyenne; but we shall very soon establish the fact, that the behaviour of the Americans on the occasion was nothing but chaffing, and that of the most despicable kind. ner The schooner-classes of the two navies will require The but a few words. None can compete with the schooAmericans in the size, beauty, swiftness, or seaworthi- classes. ness of their schooners. They will arm a schooner of 200 tons, with seven guns, including a traversing 18 or 24 pounder, and give her a crew of at least 100 able-bodied men. If this schooner is captured by the British and deemed eligible for the navy, her bulwarks are raised, and pierced with ports fore and aft, 14 carronades, 18 or 12 pounders, are crowded upon her deck, and she is established (there is no crowding here) with a crew of 45 or 50 men and * See vol. ii. p. 131. . |