USS Bon Homme Richard

“ That he fired into the Bonhomme Richard was proved beyond any doubt by his own men, some of whom (the Americans) refused to fire the guns at his order. It was proved by his own officers (Frenchmen at that) that he said he would have “thought it no harm if the Bonhomme Richard had struck, for it would have given him an opportunity to retake her and to take the Serapis.” A sane man would have been executed for such treachery as his, of course, but he was very properly dismissed only. ”

“ The crew of the Bonhomme Richard, which was the only American vessel of the little fleet,—and the only one that accomplished any signal success—was composed of such a motley assortment of the offscourings of the dockyards that even Jones' stout heart sank when he saw his men assembled together. Among the men that were supposed to be sailors were many French peasants who had never even seen a vessel and English prisoners that he had to keep in order by the armed force of his more loyal men. ”

“ When the war ended but three naval ships, bearing eighty-four guns between them, remained. The American navy had almost perished, but, like Arnold’s fleet on Lake Champlain, it had given the Englishman an opportunity to see the face of the302 enemy. Even as in the fight which the Bonhomme Richard waged, it won victory even when it was so shattered as to all but disappear while yet the smoke of battle hung over the water. For without the aid of the sea power the war of the Revolution would have failed. ”

“ The ship, a converted merchantman, was a dull sailer, old, and rotten; her guns were of various calibres, and were worn out; her men were loafers and outcasts from every nation, with a backbone of about 150 French peasants, tempted from their fields by promises of bounty and booty. The Bonhomme Richard sailed from L'Orient on 14 Aug. 1779. With her were associated for the cruise four other vessels, one of which, the Alliance of 36 guns, was an American-built frigate and manned by Americans, but commanded by a Frenchman, Pierre Landais ”

“ This led to Captain Sprowl’s bluntly telling them that on arrival in America, to which he was shaping his course for that purpose, they would all be discharged and new men taken on in their places. This did not suit the men at all. Driven wild by dreams of wealth they broke into open mutiny a short time after the professor had sent his wireless despatch to Mr. Chadwick. Led by Medway and Luke Hemming, they insisted that the yacht be held on her course for South America. ”

“ Privately, though, they thought it was secure against anything.
“How long before we come in sight of your mine?” asked Jack.
“Oh, Sonora is quite a way down the coast. I don’t expect to sight it before this evening. By the way, I cabled Jameson before we left that if all was well he was to hoist a white light. If not, two red ones.”
“You don’t anticipate any real trouble, do you?” asked Mr. Dancer, who was taking an airing on deck while Silas did a “trick” at the wheel.
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“I don’t know. These rebels are inflamed against Americans. They think that the Cuban government grants them favors. ”

“ At a German professor got sore;
It grabbed at his finger,
The prof he did linger,
And now he won’t do so no more,”
chanted Dick, who had a weakness for making up limericks.
“Stow that,” growled Captain Sprowl with mock indignation. “Now then,” he went on, “when you young fellers have quite digested your supper, we’ll set about fixin’ up for the night. You said there was a tent in the ship, Jack?”
“Yes, a light one of balloon silk. It’s seven by nine feet. Is it big enough?”
“Crullers, yes! Big enough for the crew of a down-east whaler, boy. We won’t all sleep in it at once, anyhow. ”

“ The play of the lightning was incessant. The whole sky appeared to be ablaze with livid fire. In the blue glare the figures on deck were outlined as plainly as if on the screen of a moving picture theatre. But it was grim, real-life drama that was being enacted.
The boys saw Medway and Hemming, with revolvers in their hands, go slipping and sliding across the inclined deck and rush into the midst of the group of seamen about the boat.
“Drop those falls, you fools!” they heard Hemming shout above the tempest. “It’s death to launch a boat in this!” ”

“ In an instant the sailor pounced on him. But Tom, with a shout, pitched upon Jack’s captor. In a flash they were rolling all over the deck.
Jack regained his feet as the heavy form of his captor was removed. Dick Donovan was at his side.
“I’m with you, by Barataria,—I’m with you!” he cried, throwing himself into an attitude of defense as several men ran toward them. Tom had by this time managed to throw off the man whom he had attacked and, springing to his feet, he joined his comrades. The three boys, their backs to a deck house, faced the crew of the yacht without flinching ”

“ All at once, as the tiny metal chip of a White Shark rushed along by the side of the huge leviathan of naval warfare, an object clothed in white fell from the stern deck. Like a flash it darted downward.
For an instant the watchers on the deck of the195 submarine thought something had been thrown overboard from the cook’s or quartermaster’s section of the ship.
But a moment later a booming, roaring cry ran along the battleship’s crowded decks. Her steam siren shrieked like the wail of a lost soul.
“What’s the matter?” demanded Jack.
“It’s a man overboard!” cried Silas.196 “That’s what it is!” ”

“ But there was nothing to be gained by do226ing this, as, at such great depths, pressure and friction would be so increased as to seriously impede the submarine craft’s progress, and haste was a necessity.
After this digression concerning the night, we will follow the boys up to the deck after breakfast, for at dawn the White Shark had been driven to the surface and the ventilators opened. While the air was not foul, still it was a relief to open everything that could be opened, and set in motion fans that drew the stale air out of the interior of the craft. ”

“ The flagship, the Bonhomme Richard, was a worn-out old East Indiaman, which Jones refitted and armed with six eighteen-pounders, twenty-eight twelve-pounders, and eight nine-pounders—a battery of forty-two guns. The crew of 375, of many nationalities, contained, when the fleet sailed, only about fifty Americans; but fortunately, a few days later, Jones was compelled to put back to port, where he was unexpectedly able, owing to a recent exchange of prisoners, to get rid of some of his aliens, and to secure 114 American officers and sailors, who proved to be the backbone of the Richard's crew. ”

“ By this time the Serapis, having the wind of the Bonhomme Richard, drew ahead, intending to lie across the latter’s bows and rake her. But the captain miscalculated his distance, got too far down in front, yawed off, and then putting his helm alee, came to the wind fair in front of the Bonhomme Richard. A minute later the Bonhomme Richard ran her jibboom over the stern of the Serapis, and then, because no great gun would bear on either side, the fire, save for an occasional musket shot, ceased. ”

“ So effective had been the work of the crew of the Serapis that at the end of an hour any ordinary man would have surrendered the Bonhomme Richard; but John Paul Jones was of different character from ordinary men. With a tenacity of purpose that has never been surpassed, he continued the fight and won. The number of killed on each ship was forty-nine. The Serapis had sixty-eight wounded and the Bonhomme266 Richard sixty-seven, among whom were John Paul Jones himself and Richard Dale. ”

“ You must forgive an old woman calling you Richard, who worked so hard for you when you was a boy. You must be quite a man by this time to be made Secretary of the Navy as I was told by Deacon Stillwater. I am proud of you, Richard, and so is everybody here, that one of my boys should rise so high, whom I never thought of except throwing apples at Mrs. ”

“ The United States owes much to our merchant sailors. At our Nation's beginning, these outstanding citizens opened new avenues of commerce and helped nurture a fledgling democracy into a beacon of freedom for people around the world. Since President Franklin D. Roosevelt first proclaimed National Maritime Day 62 years ago, the U.S. Merchant Marine has built on its legacy of patriotism. Its great tradition of courage and valor is an inspiration to all Americans. ”

“ Sir Richard answered that he might do with his body what he list, for he esteemed it not, and as he was carried out of the ship he swooned, and reviving again, desired the company to pray for him. The general used Sir Richard with all humanity, and left nothing unattempted that tended to his recovery, highly commending his valour and worthiness, and greatly bewailed the danger wherein he was, being unto them a rare spectacle, and a resolution seldom approved. ”

“ Americans have long looked to the sea as a source of security and prosperity. Bounded by two oceans and the Gulf of Mexico, and criss-crossed by a myriad of inland waterways, America's destiny as a maritime nation was a story foretold. The Merchant Marine took up arms alongside the Continental Navy to help defeat the British Navy during the American Revolution. Since then, they have served bravely as the United States has faced threats ranging from war to piracy, and our seafaring fleet has proven instrumental in protecting our safety. ”

“ Philip Bilden is the right choice to help us expand and modernize our fleet, including surface ships, submarines and aircraft, and ensure America’s naval supremacy for decades to come. I am proud of the men and women of our armed forces. The people who serve in our military are our American heroes, and we honor their service every day.”
“I am deeply humbled and honored to serve as Secretary of the Navy,” said Philip Bilden. “Maintaining the strength, readiness, and capabilities of our maritime force is critical to our national security. ”

“ The strong arm of the Government in enforcing respect for its just rights in international matters is the Navy of the United States. I most earnestly recommend that there be no halt in the work of upbuilding the American Navy. There is no more patriotic duty before us as a people than to keep the Navy adequate to the needs of this country’s position. We have undertaken to build the Isthmian Canal. We have undertaken to secure for ourselves our just share in the trade of the Orient. We have undertaken to protect our citizens from improper treatment in foreign lands. ”

“ The Navy has been usefully and honorably employed in protecting the rights and property of our citizens wherever the condition of affairs seemed to require its presence. With the exception of one instance, where an outrage, accompanied by murder, was committed on a vessel of the United States while engaged in a lawful commerce, nothing is known to have occurred to impede or molest the enterprise of our citizens on that element, where it is so signally displayed. ”

“ He knew him to be brave and intelligent, and of frank and winning manners, but he knew nothing more—the captain of the ship, when he dined with him, having answered his questions in general terms of commendation.
They waited for a long time in vain. So ruinous had the war become to American commerce, that for months not a vessel from the United States had visited the island.
Late one evening a schooner, named the Humming-bird, formerly an American letter-of-marque, arrived, bringing intelligence of peace between England and the United States. ”

“ Without stopping to take another look at the huge menace bearing down upon them, the boys, assisted by Silas, picked up the unconscious form of the man they had rescued and carried him below. All this was done with lightning speed. Anxiety, cold panic, made them move like those who dream, but still with promptitude.
As the metal door clanged to Jack shuddered; it sounded almost as if the steel bow of the battleship was cutting into them at the moment, cleaving them in two and sending the White Shark and her crew to an unmarked grave in the bed of the ocean. ”

“ A NAVAL ENCOUNTER.
“Jack, this is glorious!”
“You may well say that, Tom. I’m enjoying myself as much as if I were on a vacation.”
At twenty-five knots an hour the White Shark was cutting along on her voyage to the south. The sea was smooth, but it rippled just enough for the brisk, salt-laden breeze to blow an occasional shower of brine over the two lads standing on the rounded back of the novel submarine craft. ”

“ All this, be it remembered, would not increase our Navy, but would merely keep it at its present strength. Equally of course, the ships will be absolutely useless if the men aboard them are not so trained that they can get the best possible service out of the formidable but delicate and complicated mechanisms intrusted to their care. The marksmanship of our men has so improved during the last five years that I deem it within bounds to say that the Navy is more than twice as efficient, ship for ship, as half a decade ago. ”

“ Then the submarine skipper stepped forward.
"Men of the Dewey," he began, in slow even tones, "I want first of all to thank every man here for the splendid work he has done since we left God's country. We have established a record that, whether we live or die, will become an essential part of the history of the United States. The crew that we started with is intact, save for one brave man—-Jack Hammond—-who, on his own petition, was the first to be shot out of our stranded submersible in hopes that he might bring us succor. ”