Every Man Will Do His Duty (71 page)

We have been unfortunate, but not disgraced—the defence of the
Essex
has not been less honourable to her officers and crew than the capture of an equal force; and I now consider my situation less unpleasant than that of Commodore Hillyar, who, in violation of every principle of honour and generosity, and regardless of the rights of nations, attacked the
Essex
in her crippled state, within pistol shot of a neutral shore—when, for six weeks, I had daily offered him fair and honourable combat, on terms greatly to his advantage. The blood of the slain must be on his head, and he has yet to reconcile his conduct to heaven, to his conscience, and to the world.—The annexed extract of a letter from Commodore Hillyar, which was written previously to his returning me my sword, will show his opinion of our conduct.

My loss has been dreadfully severe, fifty-eight killed, or have since died of their wounds, and among them Lieutenant Cowell; thirty-nine were severely wounded, twenty-seven slightly, and thirty-one are missing—making in all one hundred and fifty-four, killed, wounded, and missing, a list of whose names is annexed.

The professional knowledge of Dr. Richard Hoffman, acting surgeon, and Dr. Alexander Montgomery, acting surgeon’s mate, added to the assiduity and the benevolent attentions and assistance of Mr. D. P. Adams, the chaplain, saved the
lives of many of the wounded—those gentlemen have been indefatigable in their attentions to them; the two first I beg leave to recommend for confirmation, and the latter to the notice of the department.

I must, in justification of myself observe that with our six twelve-pounders only we fought this action, our carronades being almost useless.

The loss in killed and wounded has been great with the enemy; among the former is the first lieutenant of the
Phoebe,
and of the latter, Captain Tucker of the
Cherub,
whose wounds are severe. Both the
Essex
and
Phoebe
were in a sinking state, and it was with difficulty they could be kept afloat until they anchored in Valparaiso next morning. The shattered state of the
Essex
will, I believe, prevent her ever reaching England, and I also think it will be out of their power to repair the damages of the
Phoebe
so as to enable her to double Cape Horn. All the masts and yards of the
Phoebe
and
Cherub
are badly crippled, and their hulls much cut up; the former had eighteen twelve-pound shot through her below her water line, some three feet under water. Nothing but the smoothness of the water saved both the
Phoebe
and
Essex.

I hope, sir, that our conduct may prove satisfactory to our country, and that it will testify it by obtaining our speedy exchange, that we may again have it in our power to prove our zeal.

Commodore Hillyar (I am informed) has thought proper to state to his government that the action only lasted forty-five minutes; should he have done so, the motive may be easily discovered—but the thousands of disinterested witnesses who covered the surrounding hills, can testify that we fought his ships near two hours and a half; upwards of fifty broadsides were fired by the enemy, agreeably to their own accounts, and upwards of seventy-five by ours: except the few minutes they were repairing damages, the firing was incessant.

Soon after my capture, I entered into an agreement with Commodore Hillyar to disarm my prize, the
Essex Junior,
and proceed with the survivors of my officers and crew to the United States, taking with me her officers and crew. He consented to grant her a passport to secure her from recapture. The ship was small, and we knew we had much to suffer, yet we hoped soon to reach our country in safety, that we might again have it in our power to serve it. This arrangement was attended with no additional expense, as she was abundantly supplied with provisions and stores for the voyage.

In justice to Commodore Hillyar, I must observe, that (although I can never be reconciled to the manner of his attack on the
Essex,
or to his conduct before the action) he has, since our capture, shown the greatest humanity to my wounded (whom he permitted me to land, on condition that the United States should bear their expenses), and has endeavoured as much as lay in his power to alleviate the distresses of war, by the most generous and delicate deportment towards myself, my officers, and crew. He gave orders that the property of every person should be
respected; which orders, however, were not so strictly attended to as might have been expected; besides being deprived of books, charts, &c. &c. both myself and officers lost many articles of our clothing, some to a considerable amount. I should not have considered this last circumstance of sufficient importance to notice, did it not mark a striking difference between the navy of Great-Britain, and that of the United States, highly creditable to the latter.

By the arrival of the
Tagus
a few days after my capture, I was informed that besides the ships which had arrived in the Pacific in pursuit of me, and those still expected, others were sent to cruize for me in the China seas, off New Zealand, Timor, and New Holland, and that another frigate was sent to the river La Plata.

To possess the
Essex,
it has cost the British government near six millions of dollars, and yet, sir, her capture was owing entirely to accident; and if we consider the expedition with which naval contests are now decided, the action is a dishonour to them. Had they brought their ships boldly into action with a force so very superior, and having the choice of position, they should either have captured or destroyed us in one-fourth of the time they were about it.

During the action, our consul general, Mr. Poinsett, called on the governor of Valparaiso and requested that the batteries might protect the
Essex.
This request was refused, but he promised that if she should succeed in fighting her way to the common anchorage, he would send an officer to the British commander and request him to cease firing, but declined using force under any circumstances; and there is no doubt a perfect understanding existed between them. This conduct, added to the assistance given to the British and their friendly reception after the action, and the strong bias of the faction which govern Chili in favour of the English, as well as their hostility to the Americans, induced Mr. Poinsett to leave that country. Under such circumstances, I did not conceive it would be proper for me to claim the restoration of my ship, confident that the claim would be made by my government to more effect. Finding some difficulty in the sale of my prizes, I had taken the
Hector
and
Catharine
to sea and burnt them with their cargoes.

I exchanged Lieutenant M’Knight, Mr. Adams, and Mr. Lyman, and eleven seamen for a part of the crew of the
Sir Andrew Hammond
and sailed from Valparaiso on the 27th April, where the enemy were still patching up their ships to put them in a state for proceeding to Rio de Janeiro, previous to going to England.

Annexed is a list of the remains of my crew to be exchanged, as also a copy of the correspondence between Commodore Hillyar and myself on that subject. I also send you a list of the prisoners I have taken during my cruise, amounting to three hundred and forty-three.

I HAVE THE HONOUR TO BE, &C.

(Signed) D. PORTER.

The honourable Secretary of the Navy of the U.S. Washington.

P.S. To give you a correct idea of the state of the
Essex
at the time of her surrender, I send you the boatswain’s and carpenter’s report of damages; I also send you a report of the divisions.

It will be perceived by the foregoing narrative that every means was resorted to on my part to provoke the enemy to offer battle with his single ship, but without effect. For this I do not blame Captain Hillyar, since the interests of his country ought to have been, and undoubtedly were, paramount to every other consideration, on this occasion. The reader, however, will judge for himself, whether Captain Hillyar’s attack on the
Essex,
then in a crippled state, and within the limits of a neutrality, which he had pledged himself to respect, was, setting aside the question of legality, either brave or magnanimous.

It was my intention to have explained the alteration in the conduct of the Chilian government towards myself, evinced in denying me a right to the protection accorded me by the laws of nations. But this would swell my narrative beyond the limits I had prescribed myself. The explanation may be found in those changes which have been so common in that country, torn by different factions, and in the meanness of that spirit, which takes part ever with the strongest. When I commanded the most powerful force in the Pacific, all were willing to serve me: but when Captain Hillyar appeared, with one still stronger, it became the great object to conciliate his friendship by evincing hostility to me. It will be recollected, by those conversant with the history of the Chilian Revolution, that my particular friends the Carreras were stripped of power and thrown into prison, the government of Chili being usurped by their most inveterate enemies. Added to all this, Captain Hillyar was acting in the character of mediator between the viceroy of Peru and the officers of the Chilian government; in which capacity, he at length caused the country to be delivered up to the royal troops, under a promise of a general and free pardon to those then in possession of power. For this service, Captain Hillyar was made an Hidalgo, and honoured with a conspicuous place in a religious procession, commemorative of the occasion, where he wore the habit of a friar and bore in his hand a waxen candle.

Soon after the capture of the
Essex,
I was sent on board the
Phoebe,
by the officer who took possession of the
Essex.
I had no cause to complain of my treatment while there. Captain Hillyar’s conduct was delicate and respectful. The instant of anchoring in Valparaiso, I was allowed to go on shore on parole, and the same privilege granted to my officers, as well as those of my crew who were wounded. The rest were placed under guard, on board a Spanish merchant ship, hired by Captain Hillyar for that purpose.

Under present circumstances, I could not expect any civilities from those in authority at Valparaiso. But the neglect of the governor and his officers was fully compensated by the kind attentions of the good citizens. When my wounded companions were brought on shore, they were borne to the place selected by me for a hospital, by the kind Chilians. The ladies of Valparaiso took upon themselves the task of providing for their necessities and administering to the alleviation of their sufferings. At all times, women of the most respectable appearance attended at the hospital, who tendered their services gratuitously, to take care of the wounded. Without their aid, I have no doubt, many would have died, who now live to thank them. For myself, I shall never forget their gentle humanity; and if it should not be in my power to return it, I bequeath the remembrance as a legacy of gratitude to be repaid by my country.

After providing every thing in my power for the comfort of my wounded companions, I made a visit to the capital of Chili. I shall pass over the events of this journey, and hasten to a conclusion. On referring to the correspondence between myself and Captain Hillyar, in the appendix, it will be seen there was an arrangement made for disarming the
Essex Junior,
and converting her into a cartel; which I considered highly advantageous, as it ensured the safety of a prize. This case was similar to that of the
Alert,
to which Captain Hillyar had objected on a former occasion. His motives for acceding to such an arrangement at this time were probably founded in some apprehensions with respect to my crew, and the probable danger of trusting them on board of the
Phoebe,
which carried a large quantity of specie on freight to England.

The remainder of my brave crew were accordingly embarked in the
Essex Junior;
and on taking leave of Captain Hillyar, after acknowledging his attentions, I seized the opportunity to tell him that though I should take every occasion to do him free justice in that respect, I should nevertheless be equally plain in making known his conduct in attacking me in the manner he had done. The tears came into his eyes, and, grasping my hand, he replied, “My dear Porter, you know not the responsibility that hung over me, with respect to your ship. Perhaps my life depended on my taking her.” I asked no explanation at that time, and he gave none. He still has it in his power, however, to clear up the affair to the world; and if he can show that the responsibility rests on his government, I shall do him justice, with more pleasure than I now impeach his conduct. Until then, the stigma rests on him.

On leaving Valparaiso, every effort was made to reach home in time to fit out ships to proceed to the British channel, for the purpose of intercepting the
Phoebe
and her prize; and, favoured by the wind, of which we took
every advantage, we arrived off Sandy Hook in seventy-three days. Here we fell in with the
Saturn,
a British ship of war, commanded by Captain Nash, who treated me, in the first instance, with great civility; examined the papers of the
Essex Junior;
furnished me with late newspapers; and sent me some oranges—at the same time making offers of his services. The boarding officer endorsed my passport and permitted the ship to proceed. She stood on in the same tack with the
Saturn;
and about two hours afterwards was again brought to—the papers examined, and the ship’s hold overhauled by a boat’s crew and officer. I expressed my astonishment at such proceedings; and was informed that Captain Nash had his motives. It was added that Captain Hillyar had no authority to make such arrangements; that the passport must go on board the
Saturn
again and the
Essex Junior
be detained. I insisted, that the smallest detention would be a violation of the contract on the part of the British and declared I should consider myself a prisoner to Captain Nash and no longer on my parole. I then offered my sword; assuring the officer, I delivered it with the same feelings I surrendered it to Captain Hillyar. He declined receiving it; went on board the
Saturn;
and returned with the information that Captain Nash directed the
Essex Junior
to remain all night under the lee of the
Saturn.
I then said—I am your prisoner; I do not consider myself any longer bound by my contract with Captain Hillyar, which has thus been violated, and shall act accordingly