Every Man Will Do His Duty (67 page)

The
Essex Junior
was directed to cruise off the port, to intercept the enemy’s merchant vessels and to apprise me of the appearance of any of his ships of war. In the mean time, every effort was made to get the
Essex
ready for sea, while my crew were allowed by turns to go ashore on liberty. The attention and hospitality of the people of Valparaiso seemed to increase; and not having had an opportunity to return their civilities on my former visit, I took advantage of the present occasion to supply the omission. On the evening of the seventh, I invited the officers of the government, their families, and all the other respectable inhabitants, to an entertainment on board the
Essex.
To give Lt. Downes an opportunity to participate in these gayeties, I directed him to anchor his vessel, but so as to save a full view of the sea.

The dancing continued until midnight; after which Lt. Downes repaired to his vessel, got her under way, and proceeded to sea. We had not yet taken down the awnings, flags, &c. which we usually employed on these occasions for the decorations of ships of war, nor got clear of the confusion which so large a company naturally occasioned, before the
Essex Junior
made a signal for two enemy’s ships in sight. At this time, one half of my crew were on shore; but, having established a signal for them to repair on board, I caused a gun to be fired, and after directing the ship to be prepared for action, repaired on board the
Essex Junior,
and went out to reconnoitre. Both vessels had the appearance of frigates. Upon this I directed Lt. Downes to run into port and take a position where we could mutually; defend each other.

On my return to the
Essex,
at half past seven, one hour and a half only after the enemy came in sight, I found the ship completely prepared for action, and every man on board, and at his post. We had now only to act on the defensive. At eight o’clock the two ships came into the harbour; the| frigate, which proved to be the
Phoebe,
Captain Hillyar, ranging up along-side of the
Essex,
and between her and the
Essex Junior,
within a few yards I of the former. The
Phoebe
was fully prepared for action.

Captain Hillyar very politely inquired after my health; to which inquiry I returned the usual compliment. And here it may be proper to observe that Captain Hillyar and myself had been acquainted in the Mediterranean. While his family resided at Gibraltar, I was in the habit of visiting them frequently, and had spent many pleasant hours in their company. For Captain Hillyar and his family I entertained the highest respect; and among the American officers generally, no officer of the British navy was so great a favourite as Captain Hillyar. The former paid to his family greater attentions than to any other persons similarly situated; and on the other hand, were always received with the like in return. On one occasion, during the absence of Captain Hillyar, they placed themselves under the protection of Commodore Rodgers and came in his ship from Malta to Gibraltar; where Mrs. Hillyar joined her husband. But, to proceed with my narrative:

Finding the
Phoebe
was approaching nearer than prudence or a strict neutrality would justify me in permitting, I observed to Captain Hillyar that my ship was perfectly prepared for action, but that I should only act on the defensive. He immediately answered, as he leaned over the quarter, in a careless and indifferent manner: “O, Sir, I have no intention of getting on board of you.” I told him again, if he did fall on board of me, there would be much bloodshed. He repeated his assurances, with the same
nonchalance,
that such was not his intention. Finding, however, that he luffed up
so as to cause his ship to take aback, whereby her jib-boom came across my forecastle, I immediately called all hands to board the enemy, directing them, if the ships’ hulls touched, to spring upon the deck of the
Phoebe.
At this moment, not a gun from the
Phoebe
could be brought to bear on either the
Essex
or
Essex Junior,
while her bow was exposed to the raking fire of the one, and her stern to that of the other. Her consort, which proved to be the
Cherub,
of 28 guns, was too far off to leeward to afford any assistance.

It is quite impossible for me to describe the consternation on board the
Phoebe,
when they saw every officer and man of the
Essex
armed with a cutlass and a brace of pistols, ready to jump on board. They had been informed by the boat of an English ship in port that the
Essex
was in great confusion from the entertainment and that the greater part of her crew were on shore. On witnessing this unexpected preparation for his reception, Captain Hillyar raised both his hands and protested with the utmost vehemence that he had no intention of getting on board of me; that it was altogether an accident that his ship had been taken aback; that he was exceedingly sorry she had been placed in that situation; and that he had no hostile intention in doing so.

The
Phoebe
was at this moment completely at my mercy. I could have destroyed her in fifteen minutes. The temptation was great; and the equivocal appearance of this near approach of the enemy might have justified my attacking him on the plea of self-defence. But I was disarmed by these assurances of Captain Hillyar; and accordingly, hailing lieut. Downes, told him not to commence hostilities without my orders, as it was my intention to allow Captain Hillyar to extricate himself from his disagreeable situation. The
Phoebe
accordingly separated from the
Essex,
drifted by my ships, constantly exposed to their raking fire; and after getting clear of them, anchored on the eastern side of the harbour, within reach of her long eighteen-pounders, but beyond the range of my carronades. The
Cherub
anchored within pistol-shot of my larboard bow, and, upon this, I ordered the
Essex Junior
to take a position that would place the
Cherub
between her fire and that of the
Essex:
an arrangement that gave great umbrage to her commander, Captain Tucker.

On going ashore, there was a general expression of astonishment among the officers of the government, and the people of Valparaiso, at my forbearance in not taking advantage of the opportunity which had thus presented itself for destroying the enemy. My reply was that I had always respected the neutrality of their port and should scrupulously continue to do so. Nor, although subsequent events have proved that Captain Hillyar was incapable of a similar forbearance, have I ever regretted for a single
moment that I permitted him to escape, when, either by accident or design, he had placed himself entirely at my mercy. At no time, during the engagement which took place afterwards, or since, would I have changed situations or feelings with that officer.

Captain Hillyar and Captain Tucker, the day after their arrival, paid me a visit at the house of Mr. Blanco, where I generally staid while on shore. Their visit was soon returned, and a friendly intimacy established, not only between the commanders and myself, but the officers and boats’ crews of the respective ships. No one, to have judged from appearances, would have supposed us to have been at war, our conduct towards each other bore so much the appearance of a friendly alliance. At our first interview, I took occasion to tell Captain Hillyar, it was very important that I should know of him whether he intended to respect the neutrality of the port. He replied, with much emphasis and earnestness:
“You
have paid so much respect to the neutrality of the port that I feel myself bound in honour to respect it.” I told him, the assurance was sufficient, and that it would place me more at ease, since I should now no longer feel it necessary to be always prepared for action.

In the course of this conversation, I adverted to a flag he had hoisted, containing the following motto: “God and country; British sailors’ best rights; traitors offend both;” and asked him the object of it. He said it was in reply to my motto of “free trade and sailors’ rights,” which gave great offence to the British navy—whenever I hoisted that flag, he should not fail to hoist the other. I told him, my flag was intended solely for the purpose of pleasing ourselves and not to insult the feelings of others; that his, on the contrary, was considered as highly insulting in the light of an offset against ours; and that, if he continued to hoist it, I should not fail to retort on him. The next day, this flag being hoisted, I displayed one bearing the motto of “God, our country, and Liberty—tyrants offend them.” Three cheers followed on the part of the crew of the
Phoebe,
which were returned from my ship. The thing was taken in good part by Captain Hillyar; we talked freely and good humouredly of the object of his coming to that sea; the long hunt he had after me, and of my views in coming to Valparaiso. He asked me what I intended to do with my prizes; when I was going to sea; and various other inquiries were put and answered. I told him, whenever he sent away the
Cherub,
I should go to sea; that it would depend upon him altogether when I departed; that, having thus met him, I should seek an opportunity of testing the force of the two ships. I added that the
Essex
being smaller than the
Phoebe,
I did not feel that I should be justified to my country for losing my ship if I gave him a challenge; but if he would challenge me, and send away the
Cherub,
I would have no hesitation in fighting him.

To these and similar observations Captain Hillyar would reply that the results of naval actions were very uncertain: they depended on many contingencies—and the loss of a mast or a spar often turned the fate of the day. He observed that notwithstanding the inferiority of my ship, still, if I could come to close quarters with her carronades, I should no doubt do great execution. On the whole, therefore, he should trust to circumstances to bring us together, as he was not disposed to yield the advantage of a superior force, which would effectually blockade me until other ships arrived, and at all events, prevent my doing any further injury to the commerce of Britain. As regarded my prizes, I informed him, they were only incumbrances to me, and I should take them to sea and destroy them the first opportunity. He told me I dared not do it while he was in sight. I replied, “we shall see.”

Finding Captain Hillyar determined to yield none of the advantages of his superior force and being informed there were other ships bound into the Pacific Ocean in pursuit of me, I secretly resolved to take every means of provoking him to a contest with his single ship. The
Cherub
being quite near to the
Essex,
the respective crews occasionally amused themselves with singing songs, selecting those most appropriate to their situation and feelings. Some of these were of their own composition. The songs from the
Cherub
were better sung, but those of the
Essex
were more witty and more to the point. The national tune of “Yankee Doodle” was the vehicle through which the crew of the
Essex,
in full chorus, conveyed their nautical sarcasms; while “the sweet little cherub that sits up aloft” was generally selected by their rivals. These things were not only tolerated but encouraged by the officers through the whole of the first watch of the calm, delightful nights of Chili; much to the amusement of the people of Valparaiso, and the frequent annoyance of the crew of the
Cherub.
At length, Captain Hillyar requested me to put a stop to this practice, and I informed him, I certainly should not do so, while the singing continued on board the
Cherub.

About this time, one of my prisoners made his escape, by jumping overboard from the
Essex Junior.
A boat put off from the
Cherub
to pick him up; and notwithstanding every effort on our part, he was carried on board the
Cherub.
This affair led to the following correspondence between Captain Hillyar and myself, in which the reader will perceive some little asperity, and the first which had showed itself since our meeting. I felt that Captain Hillyar had violated his pledge in permitting the rescue of this man, and could not forbear placing it in its true light. The reason of my not demanding his restoration must be obvious to all when it is considered how advantageous such a precedent would be to me, predisposed as the British sailors are to desert at every opportunity.

His Britannic Majesty’s ship Phoebe, Valparaiso,

9th Feb.1814

Sir,

By an Englishman picked up by one of his majesty’s sloop
Cherub’s
boats, in a drowning state, Captain Tucker has been informed, that nine of our countrymen are suffering the miseries of close confinement, on board the American ship of war under your orders; and that the calamity of imprisonment is aggravated by their being kept in irons. As this mode of treatment is so contrary to any I have ever witnessed, during a very long servitude, as well as the usages of honourable warfare, may I beg (if the statement is just) that you will do me the favour to interest yourself in their behalf.

I HAVE THE HONOUR TO BE, &C
.

(Signed) JAMES HILLYAR.

U. S. Frigate Essex, Valparaiso,

10th Feb.1814.

Sir,

I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of yesterday. The information you have received from the prisoner who made his escape from my armed prize, and who was assisted in effecting it by the boat and crew of his majesty’s ship
Cherub,
is correct as respects the situation of the remaining prisoners of war on board the
Essex Junior,
as well as those in the Frigate I have the honour to command.

When at the Island of Nooaheevah, my prisoners, while on their parole of honour, made a most diabolical attempt to possess themselves of my prize by means of poison, with a view of making their escape. I detected and secured them; and when I no longer apprehended further danger, I liberated them. Since my arrival here, I have again found it necessary to secure them, and those on board my prize have been confined two days.