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THE REPUBLICAN.
Tuesday Evening, April 12, 1814.
BY FREDERICK S. FELL,
ON THE RAT, NEAR TI1K EXCHANGE.
PRINTED THREE TIMES A WEEK.'
A: Six Dollars per Annum, In advance.
British Naval ^ievs|
TRUE BLUE.
TO THE EDITOR or TBS HALIFAX
RXCORDSR. i*
their breadth of beam not considered
quite in proportion to their length.—
The keels of our 7"?»s ate about 150
feet; those of our 38 gun frigates about
Some idea may be formed what
140.
the spars of these new frigates will be,
on being told that the mainyard of the
I President is 92 feet; while that of the
w„__ . - .» : ' Queen Charlotte is 110: The ships
*5 ** saffiLe •
a^^fr'gatesarcbuildingmthe dimensions as thetWo at Phi-
United States ; but the extradrdinary lnVl „i nh;a . but much^riher advanc
\U4UIUHiOI V t t |
size of these vessels, in reference.<o ^^pahaiy ^i^s. one'or twpof
tlie.rnoW rate,.may not be so ge- ^i/ffisexpected will be at sea, ear-
nerally known. The opportune I , ■ M c hsu^j summer,
had last summer of viewing the Mam-, ’ Thp jdafirf B |Si-i 1 r - f
moth> 74. and frigate budding at Phil
adclpliia, enables me *‘ “—“■*’ 1 **
of the bread of their »reoj u» «mu, e .
thc-fr/fuU dimensionsmay be tolerably ; 24 , s ^. hJi . h f h |- e b ,f e fLsferred to
estimated.
The keel of the 74 is 153 feet 5
inches, which exceeds that of the
Queen Charlotte of 110 guijs, whose
gun deck is 195 leet. This 74 pro-
ceeds very slowly, for want of materi
als, having in October last only a few
of her floor timbers laid down. Ii
was expected she" would not be ready
for launching until May or June in
1815; and eveff that would depend
upon the vigilance of our ships in the
Delaware, in cutting off their supplies
of timber. Her lower-deck guns are
to be long 24 potihders ; and she is to
mount at least 96 guns, allowing for
bridle and stem ports.
We will presently compare the
broadside of such aeeventy-four, with
that of one of our 98’s; but, first, Ter
me notice that one of the handsomest
and among the largest 74’s in our na-
S , was built in. the state of New-
mpshire, in. America, as long ago
as ’93 or ’94, and is stiH in the service.
She is called L’lmpetuewas taken
from the - French, i believe by lord
H. Seymour, then csHcdJL'Amerique,
and was a.present made by the Ame
rican government totbe French, - in
lieu , of a ship of their’s said to have
been sunk or destroyed in some port
of the United States. She was deem*
ed worthy a portrait, of which a print
will be found in our Naval Chroni
cles. .* -
Now for a comparison—a few
pounds either way; will not be materi
al. • .•
Broadside of an Amerian 74.-—Low-
er-deck 16 long 42’s—6721bs ; main-
deck i6long 24’s—884lbs.; quarter
deck 2 long 24’s-—48 lbs. ; forecas
tle 10 carronades, 42’s—420 lbs. ;
poop 4 carronades. 24’s—96 lbs. ;
broadside, 48 guns, and 1620 lbs. No.
of guns in all, 96.
Broadside of a British 98.—I.ower-
deck 14 long S2’s-r-448 lbs.; mid
dle-deck 14 long 24’s—336 lbs. ;
main-deck 14 long 12’s—163 lbs. ;
quarter-deck 3 long 18’s—36 lbs.;
forecastle 7 cartonades, 32’s—224
lbs.; pqop 4 carronades, 24’s—96
lbs. f broadside, .1308 lbs.; 56 guns.
No.:ofguhS in all, 112.
Therefore from 1620 take 1326—
294thus making the boadsidc of an
the Macedonian) and our 74’s, razees
and frigates, may be seen by the fol
lowing statement,* in' gross.
Force of a 2d class 74 (by
the most numerous
class) having 18’s on
her main deck—in all
82 guns, if 10371bs
Do of-a razee, 28 long
32’s—25 42’s carron
ades and 2 long 12’s—
in all 58 guns r lOOSlbs
Do. of the American fri.
gate United "States, 42’s
carronades ' in' all 54
guns. ... STSlbs
Do. of a British 38, long
18’s and 32’s, carron
ades—in all 5*0 guns.
' 576lbs.
By which it; appears that the U nlt-
ed States is exceeded in force by the
two first, a little more than 1-6 ; ard
exceeds tbir latter nearly 1-3. Yet,
surely, all this might have been known
to our government years ago. How
many times Eas almost every ship of
the present American navy been rid
ing at anchor, for days together, at
Portsmouth, the Downs, and other
roads and harbors of England ?- -and
how often liaVe they been visited and
minutely examined by hundreds of
of our navy- officers ? - There is a story
hawked ahouj the states, and which is
cast in every Englishman’s teeth, the
moment the agreeable subject of our
late defeats is brought upon the capis.
It is, that tlie late captain of our late
Macedonian, when dining on board
captain Decatur’s ship, before the
war, seriously declared that 18 pound
ers were as good as 24’s; and that he
preferred his ship to the United States.
Whether or not he had soon reason to
change* his opinion, may be seen by
reading his official letter, written after
the next interview he had .with his
friend 1
As to the number of men tobe employ
ed in these truly non-descript,, some
idea may be formed from the known
complement of all their other armed
vessels. The. crew of the Chesapeake
was 440. that of the Congress, also
rated.a 36, after |6sing4 by death, and
j ra ^ ^
indeed, weJhaYe fresh, ip o,ur recoil c- *'
{fort, the unparalleled,bravery of lie
little boy, not 11 years old, in the I o-
32’s on her main deck, and mount in
all sixty-tWo duns. She was nearly
planked up iq October last: and it was
said, would be laDtuShe'd in April or
May next. These .new forty-four$
will far excel die old ones, in size as
well as weight of metal; the keels of
the latter being only 152 feet, and privateer. But steadiness, experience
minica schr. who Was wounded fo tVoj .victories, thus; ** His majesty’s ship '
places,-repelling boarders in. the sap-' —of ’38 guns, after a hardfougnt
guinaiy and -most unfortunate coriflfct
which thatyessel hlid with die Decatir.
—-s- . .— - manning one or two prizes, consisted
American 74, to that of a British 98, j of 410 on her arrival from her last
nearly as 5 to 4; and to a ship of ours cruise ,as let.out by <jne ofher offi-
of a similar rate to herself (estimating cers, and published in the Boston pa-
the broadside of our first class 74 at pers. The Essex,-32, had 376 whei
Habibs ^ nearly- as 2 hr ttr-9:' Yet she left nhe^Ddawarc in the fall of
»what British 74, erven of the smallest 1812. f was, reformed that the crew
clas$, daft decline a. combat with an of the 74 atPhiladelphiawould consist
American two decker ? And should
the former be defeated, as, without a
miracle, she must be, what rejoicings
of 8 to 9O0 ; that of the frigate of600.
This is another point wherein our
navy is miserably defective. I ques-
and what bewailings there would be ! tion if there ai*e more than fifty ships,
Then, and not till then, should we be-, exclusive of those bearing flags, that
gin to sum up in figures, the mighty • have their full complement of men on
difference in force, between the two board, economically fixed as that corn-
ships, filling whole pages of naval plement already is. Even when all
chronicles and”newspapers, with vain are mustered, near a sixteenth part
and muscular strength are also requi
site qualities in the man of-war-sailr*
Look at the 'fastidious commode
Rodgers, who, when 60 Then volu
teered on board of him out of a.qartfl,
(and as he had at that time manned se
veral prizes, nt may be presumed, he
wanted men) could select only sixteen,
flow many of the remaining forty-four
would have-been rejected by a British
officer P perhaps not a single one, un
less he were deficient in legs df-arms.
What number nf British sailors were
sent to Lake Erie, to oppose, among
others, 3C0 Americans, called out of
the Constitution’s cr.ew, flushed lWth
two victories ? How-many sent to man
upwards of 40 carriage guns, and to
work- a fleet of 6 or; TSflT (a fleeti tpq,
where so much depends on good, sea
manship ?) I have seen a paper, pur -
porting to be official, which says that
—in all therc-iocre fifty l ! Ought this
to have bcevi unexpected P No—*it
was publislied in most of the Ameri
can papers, as soon as ft was known
the men had left Boston ;. and months
before the unfortunate, affair, in which
our brave fellows fell, in their’vain ef
forts against so overwhelming a force ?
I remember vye used to attribute the
immense slaughter on board die French
ships, when in action with us, to the
extra-quantity of men they had ; not
discriminating between a parcel of
land-lubbers and ignorant fellows,
who were, no douht, oftener killed or
maimed by the recoil of their own
guns, than by the shot from our’s, and
a sufficient number of able seamen,
expert gunners, marines and riflemen,
such as the Americans use. The po
sition is reversed With respect to the
loss of men on board their ships .; and
l hope such dear bought experience
has now opened our eyes.
In the out-fit of their ships, also, the
Americans, certainly, far excel us ;
they spare no cost, their large frigates
being, it said, more expensive than
our 74’s. It was remarked, after the
capture of the Macedonian,' that al
most all her carronades were upset and
rendered useless, while those of the
United States remained secure ; and
that many of the breechings of the
main deck guns had giveu way, while
and.48’s,' as we' are tfow 110’s, 98’5i,' ■ ‘
oji’u. and our enemies would - AS"
74’s and 38’s; .
cease to'accuse us of exaggefatirig our .
,.-u.t/wwe thus ■ “ His hiniestv’s shin'
U
action of two hours, captured the w
French frigate’—dF44
of fiur superior force, 6?c.”—when it
was pretty generally known that the
former mounted at least 48 guns, and
the latter no* more than the number
specified. Nor would [besides othcrv '
woeful instances, that have appeared,
and may happen again} one of our
32’s with 220 men, long 12’s and 241b '.
carronades throwing a broadside of
2971bs^ln an engagement with the Es
sex frigate, 32, 376 men, 40 321b. A
carronades; arid 4lortg 18’s,throwing
a broadside of 6761bs. nearly double,
be compelled to surrender; although
defended, as, no doubt, she would be,
in the most able and gallant manner. *
Moreover, what credit would the
Americans, or the world, at large, gird
to us* if one of our 38’s succeeded ftv
capturing the American 321- Let us
have * no more disputes with ' the
Americans about disparity of force;'
how this or that ship is called, and so
forth ; but be prepared to meet diem
gun. to gun, and man to man; who
then will doubt that the Brakes will
be formed in very water, sal£ or fresh,
to seek—engage and conquer them.
1.am sorry to say I found the tvai*
becoming eveiy <jay more popular
among the Americans, they declaring
that if we do towards them the pext
five years, only five times as much in
jury, as we did the first year of the
war, its continuance for that period
will affect them very little. They
Would have it, that the captains of our
frigates and sloops on their coast [most
impudent assertion 1] preferred ren
contres with good fat’‘neutrals, to the
chance of an ugly brush, as they term
ed ft, with their men of war. They
1
also vexed meto the quick, by gravely
insisting that Steel’s list of the royfcl
not one started on boardthe American | dence, to resist oppression,
frigate There must hav<* been some insolence, and humble our enemfes !
navy was a mere fudge; and that more
than half the vessels enumeratedm ft
were ships of straw! intended to ope
rate as bugbears upon the other nations
of the earth. ;
Convinced, however, that nothing
in the shape of flesh and blood,, nume
rically equal, can withstand a discipiiiv-
ed crew of British seamen, led on by
a brave and beloved commander, I
live in hopes of witnessing another,
and another, fair demonstration, that
onr ships arc not ships of straw; but
whether of oak, fir or maple, still, as
ever, fit instruments, under Provi-
chastise
difference in the mode of securing the
guns in the two vessels ; or the qual
ities of the materials used on Our part
must have been grossly defective.
The Americans also have a foolish cus
tom of daily exercising the men at the
TRUE BLUE.
REPUBLICAN ANTIDOTE.
The following is the concluding pa.
guns in preference to employing them : *l> h of Mr. Fuller’s speech in the
in polishing carronade screws, cop. Massachusetts senate on the answer to
per on the bitts, and other such useful the governor’s speech,
occupations, by which it may be said,; “ But sir, among all the exception* *
perhaps, they* have gained a frigate or able parts of the answer, I am most
so:—“but what of that, we’il soon shocked and astonished atthecoldre-
send thei- whole navy to the d— 1!”— ception of the news of approaching
Oh John Bull! when wilt thou cease peace. PEACE, hailed by the wise, .
to pay the piper; or the world justly moderate, and patriotic of all ranks of
to accuse thee of over-rating thy prow- our countrymen, is by this selfnam-
ess! ed “ PEACE PARTY,” repelled
We certainly first commenced un- with frigid suspicion-and insulting
dervaluing the force of our ships of sneers. Has not the war effected your . .
war, by rating them at far less than favorite projects? You have nbt yet
they mounted. The Americans have vaulted into the places of power
followed our example, only* they car- and authority, and hurled the traduced ;
ry the point a little further than we do and calumniated .patrit>ts to th ‘ dust;. ' ^
not caifog hotEmucVlo%er they uri- who had been placed thereby the peo- * ,
derrate their vessels, provided they. pie. The eastern states are not yet
can equip them in proper boxing trim, severed from their sister states, of the
But to belying the number of their south and west, nor is the nation yet
men, this they do to a shameful de- desolated by the ravages of civil war, _
gree ; and without a precedent from Hasten then, ye aspiring sons of dis-
us, certainly, as may be too easily prov-; cord; quick, seize the few moments -
ed. For instance : in the account in that remain ; march ah army . to
their navy published (we presume) by strengthen and foment resistance in
authority, you will find the crews of Vermont; expel the officers civil and
the 44’s stated at 320 men; those of military, the ships & armies of the na-
the 36’s at 250; those of their 32’s at tional government, invite to. your aid
_ w wi uv i ivjuwuuk. v wui in me iolgC bllipb J 1 ^ xj -1 r T
exploits, &c. where’ even the royal yards areas What harm could arise iothe service civil war, brother aeainst brother ; fa-
The keel of the frigate is 160 1-2 square as the topsail yards of ordinary: from denominating our ships of war ther against son; spread slaughter,
inches, which, , with very little rake, vessels, surely, a smaller number 1 [like our brig-sloops} according to the flames and devastation over our eouh-
makes her gun deck 184, or 3 feet might be sufficient. Or, is it consid- j number of guns they carry! As to try ! Amiable “ Peace Party P 1 Your '
longer than thatof the San Don ingo ; ered that because a growing stripling the supposed awkwardness of the country’s infamy and ruinisjour .
and I believe, exceeding that of mtv can eat, crobablv as much beef and - thing, alittle use, especially when sea- pride and glory. But you will not be
„ . believe, exceeding that of Mfy can eat, i
British built 74 In qUr navy. She' has pork as a man/ that he must fi&jbt as,
16 poett on a gdc; yriff cariiy long weilf His doprage noohe 'disputea; *
icd withtn^t< WuMtOqb render
as familiar with 128’s, US’s, 84’s
• .-5:
"v.