USS Saratoga

“ At this the Saratoga hoisted the American flag, gave her a broadside, and crashing alongside, threw grapnels over her rail and rigging and held her fast.
The first lieutenant of the Saratoga, at this time, was Joshua Barney, whose exploit in the Hyder Ali has already been described. At the head of a party of fifty boarders Barney climbed over the rail of the merchantman, and after a sharp fight cleared her deck. Then it was learned that she carried ninety men. She was manned by a prize crew under Barney, and sent in. ”

“ It is not Old Saratoga that contains the most interest for the traveler, but the region around Schuylerville. Here the green carpet covers all the hills, whose smooth, velvety appearance adds greatly to the beauty of the country.
The day of our arrival at Saratoga was extremely sultry, and heavy masses of clouds darkened the sky. Soon bursting peals of thunder told us that the warrior clouds were bringing their heavy artillery into action. This storm passed around us, however, and we hastened to the site of the beautiful monument commemorating the decisive victory of the Revolution. ”

“ The Eagle, unable to bring her guns to bear, cut her cable and took a position between the Saratoga and the Ticonderoga, where she greatly annoyed the enemy, but left the flagship exposed to a galling fire from the British brig. Nearly all the Saratoga's starboard guns were dismounted, and Macdonough winded her, bringing her port guns to bear upon the Confiance, which ship attempted the same manœuvre, but failed. ”

“ Though the battle on shore was sorely contested, the action between the squadrons was anxiously watched by both armies, and by thousands of deeply interested spectators, who surveyed the field and the fleets from the neighbouring heights. Macdonough’s flag-ship, the Saratoga, was twice on fire; and though Downie had fallen in the first moment of the conflict, the Confiance had succeeded in dismantling all the starboard guns of her antagonist, when the bower-cable of the Saratoga was cut, and a stern-anchor dropped, on which she rounded to, and presented a fresh broadside. ”

“ On the next day, the Saratoga hoisted English colors, and came along side a ship which had two brigs in company, then running up the American ensign, she poured in a broadside, while Lieutenant Barney, with fifty men, boarded the enemy. The immediate result was, the conquest of a ship of thirty-two guns and ninety men. The two brigs, one of fourteen and the other of four guns, were also captured. The division of prize money would have made the officers rich, but no [Pg 323] division took place, for all but the Saratoga were captured by a seventy-four and several frigates. ”

“ Then the colder weather as you near Hatteras, a glimpse of old Montauk through the fog, a sharp look-out for beacons and buoys, the song of the leads-man, the quick tramp of men clewing up sail, a heavy splash and the rattle of chain, and we are anchored fast in New London mud. "All hands furl sail," now; no noise, for the Saratoga lies right ahead, and on board of a man-of-war it is considered disgraceful to make a clatter in doing any kind of work. There is an eager race up the rigging, and every nerve and muscle is strained to get your sail up first. ”

“ It was the cause that naval force from abroad, entering into the contest, transformed it from a local to a universal war, and assured the independence of the Colonies. That the Americans were strong enough to impose the capitulation of Saratoga, was due to the invaluable year of delay secured to them by their little navy on Lake Champlain, created by the indomitable energy, and handled with the indomitable courage, of the traitor, Benedict Arnold. ”

“ At daybreak the Susquehanna and Mississippi steam-frigates tripped their anchors, dropped down, and anchored immediately across the entrance of the bay where we were to land, to protect and cover the landing, having springs on their cables, that their broadside of guns might be trained on the shore. The sloop-of-war Plymouth commanded the town of Uraga, and the Saratoga, that of Humai, and the forts surrounding it. At nine o’clock, our boats154 armed and manned, went alongside of the flag-ship, where were the boats of the Saratoga and Plymouth. ”

“ The old Lexington and Saratoga were in the thick of the fight in the Pacific from the day after Pearl Harbor. The “Lex” went down in the gallant fight that stopped the Japs in the Coral Sea. Within two years a new and more powerful Lexington was hammering the Japs in the Pacific. The Saratoga, damaged severely several times, lived through the heroic struggle to see victory. The “Lex” and the “Sara” will always live in the hearts of the Navy’s veteran airmen.
SHIPBOARD FIGHTERS
The Curtiss TS-1 was the first carrier fighter built to Navy specification. ”

“ Returning to the harbour of San Juan, the Fashion boldly came to anchor under the guns of the United States frigate Saratoga, and landed her cargo of war material and passengers to the number of a hundred and fifty men. The officers and most of the men were old veterans of Nicaragua, including the tried soldiers, Hornsby, Von Natzmer, Swingle, Tucker, Henry, Hoof, Fayssoux, Cook, McMullen, Haskins, Buttrick, and others. Captain Chatard, of the Saratoga, sent a boat on board the Fashion, but the passengers had landed before the lieutenant in command could prevent them. ”

“ They were taken without resistance, and manned and sent toward port.
Nevertheless, that was a most disastrous cruise for the Saratoga. With her prizes she sailed for the Delaware, but she fell in with293 the Intrepid, a ship of seventy-four guns, on duty there. Ordering her prizes to scatter, she made all sail, and with success, for she got away. But she found an enemy more powerful even than a ship-of-the-line. She found, doubtless, an October hurricane, for she was never heard of after she disappeared from the view of the Intrepid’s lookouts. The prizes, too, were all recaptured. ”

“ Smooth and tranquil it looked in the light of that pleasant afternoon, and fur off, over the shinin’ waves, lay the island. And white-sailed boats wuz a sailin’ slowly by, and the shadow of their white sails lay down in the water a floatin’ on by the side of the boats, lookin’ some like the wings of that white dove that used to watch over Lake Saratoga. ”

“ I can’t swear, but as for darned British soldiers of any kind—such scum set no foot on the deck of Captain Hercules Getty’s brig—the Saratoga. You see that rag there, young lady, that rag flying from the gaff of the spanker, it’s not much to look at, maybe, not up to the high-toned level of the crosses and the lions that spread themselves and ramp about on other flags, but I guess a man’s free when that flies over him. You take my word for it, Miss—the word of Captain Hercules Getty—the Britisher will knuckle under to that rag. ”

“ The American squadron on the China station included the steamer Susquehanna and the sailing-ships Saratoga and the Plymouth. These were added to the expedition, with the Susquehanna as flagship, and on July 8th the squadron was in the Bay of Yeddo and at anchor off Uraga.
As it happened, there was a fog on the sea that morning, and no steamship had ever entered the harbor before that day. This combination of circumstances—the sudden appearance of two big ships propelled out of the fog, with two others in tow, by a power they had never seen, made a profound impression on the people. ”

“ But the latter soon commenced pouring in her broadsides so rapidly that she seemed enveloped in flame. The Eagle could not withstand it, and changed her position, falling in nearer shore, leaving the Saratoga to sustain almost alone the whole weight of the unequal contest. She gave broadside for broadside, but the weight of metal was against her, and she was fast becoming a wreck. Her deck soon presented a scene of the most frightful carnage. The living could hardly tumble the wounded down the hatchway as fast as they fell. ”

“ In the Summer of 1872, having raised some money, the daring young gambler decided to visit Saratoga, where, at that time, games of chance were openly conducted, in the hope that he could retrieve his fortune. Marie accompanied him. They left New Orleans in a small steamer bound for New York, and had a pleasant voyage for many days. One very dark night, however, a terrible storm arose, and it was announced that the steamer had sprung a leak. The fires were soon put out by the inflowing water, and when daylight came the vessel had become a helpless derelict, rolling in the trough of the sea. ”

“ Some one has said that the amusements of Saratoga life are dancing and drinking, the one exercise being the Omega as the other is the Alpha of its butterfly life. Saratoga, however, abounds in amusements. There are the races at the race-course and on the lake; there are balls and hops every night; there are the Indians and the Circular railway, and drives in all directions ”

“ The total number of American officers and men was 981, the whole of the latter, excepting about 83 soldiers, acting as marines, were sailors belonging to the ships of war at New London and other blockaded ports on the Atlantic frontier.
The Saratoga, Eagle, Ticonderago, and Preble, were found moored in line, abreast of the American encampment, with a division of five gun-boats on each flank; and Captain Downie immediately determined on laying the Confiance athwart-hawse of the enemy’s ship; directing Captain Pring to engage the brig. ”

“ But there were those in the fleet who didn't care for Columbus or Raleigh or Cortez or asphalt or oil. One was an old bos'n's mate. He was down here in the late '80s on the old sloop Saratoga. He had a yarn to spin [40] and it was brought out by the fact that on the day of the fleet's arrival two men from one of the torpedo flotilla had drifted away from their vessel without oars and had been carried out of sight before their absence was noticed. ”

“ Now at the height of our concern for the future, we got a wallop in the solar plexus that all but sent us down for the count. When the commander in chief finally issued his own estimate of the fleet problem and his operation orders for it, there was no reference whatever to our proposal for a sneak attack with the Saratoga. The battle wagons would do their time-honored square dance behind a destroyer smoke screen; they would fire a few gun primers and exercise their fire control ”

“ Even admitting, however, that the Saratoga was so "slack on her helm," in nautical parlance, as to "go away lasking"—i.e. almost before the wind—under such conditions, the very last order the captain would give would be "Hard up," or "Hard a-weather," which would only cause her to run away worse than ever; while taking [Pg 280] in the after-sail and piling on head sail would aggravate the evil! If the writer had represented Captain Munroe as shouting, "Hard down! Hard a-lee, you blackguard!" ”

“ On the part of the principal vessels the battle now settled into a steady, animated, but, as guns were injured, a gradually decreasing cannonade. The Chubb, while manœuvring near the head of the American line, received a broadside from the Eagle, which crippled her, and she drifted down between the opposing vessels, until near the Saratoga, which ship fired a shot into her, and she immediately struck. A midshipman was sent in a boat, to take possession. The young officer hove the prize a line, and [II-139] towed her down astern and inshore of the Saratoga ”

“ On the 6th of March a mariner died on the Mississippi of an affection of the brain. The sloop-of-war Saratoga, after a boisterous passage from Shanghae, and being blown off from the mouth of the bay of Yedo, arrived and anchored in the line. This dropping in of the ships and the subsequent arrival of another, the Japanese did not understand, and perhaps thought with Macbeth:—
“Will the line stretch out to the crack o’doom.” ”

“ The full import of this halt is too easily overlooked, with consequent failure to appreciate the momentous influence exerted upon the course of the Revolutionary War by this naval campaign, in which Pellew bore so conspicuous a part. It has never been understood in America, where the smallness of the immediate scale has withdrawn attention from the greatness of the ultimate issue, in gaining time for the preparations which resulted in the admittedly decisive victories about [Pg 442] Saratoga. ”

“ Their escape was discovered soon after the Yankee crew had smuggled them on board, and they could hear the alarm sounded and could see the lanterns glimmer along the sea-wall. Afraid that the Columbia would be searched, the fugitive red-coats stole a whale-boat from another ship, and the sympathetic American skipper gave them a bag of bread, a keg of water, a compass, and a quadrant. It was rather to be expected that a New England mariner who could remember Bunker Hill and Saratoga would lend a hand to any enterprise which annoyed the British army and diminished its fighting strength. ”

“ It was the example of the defenders of Fort Carillon staying a British army, from behind a feeble parapet, which inspired in later days the defenders of Bunker's Hill. It was the surrender of Washington at Fort Necessity, the disaster of Braddock at Fort Duquesne, which taught the future victors of Saratoga how, in an uncultivated country, to embarrass an enemy's march, cut off his supplies, do away with his apparent advantages, and finally take or destroy him. ”