From his official correspondence
Your would-be biographer says in so many words: show me a batch of your personal letters and I will tell you what you are. In such letters—written to wife, relatives, intimate friends—the writer often reveals quite unconsciously his innermost self. In a less degree the official correspondence of a man gives a glimpse— sometimes a complete picture—of his professional character. This is especially true of a Roosevelt whose personality bursts forth even from the dryest and most formal business letter. In some such way from the logs, journals, and letter books of Commodore John Downes we can visualize “the officer and the gentleman”—if we may appropriate for the moment one of Downes’ favorite phrases.
The first of these eight old manuscripts, the Log book kept on board the U. States Bomb (Ketch) Spitfire, Lieutenant Theodore Hunt, commander, by John Downes, master, commencing December I, 1805, tells us, like all such logs, of the routine of duties on board, the weather, the course and distances sailed, etc. But in the meticulous care with which the log has been kept it speaks to us also of the pride in his profession of the nineteen-year-old master, who had joined the Navy three years before and shortly after had won distinction in some boat attacks under Decatur against Tripolitan feluccas. Unfortunately these more exciting details happened before Downes took charge of the log of the Spitfire. But even if they hadn’t, they would probably not have appeared in the log. It is most discouraging to the strenuous research hound, in quest of “original material,” to open one of these musty old log books on the date of some important historic event, only to find: “Fresh breezes. Came to anchor. At sunset sent down the top gallant and royal yards.” These interesting facts appear, for example, in the Log Book of the Frigate Constitution, flagship of Commodore John Rodgers, under date of August x, 1805, the day upon which he dictated the terms of peace to the Bey of Tunis.
In the war of 1812 Master-Commandant Downes was the right-hand man of Captain David Porter in the latter’s remarkable commerce raiding cruise in the frigate Essex, which destroyed Great Britain’s lucrative whaling industry on the Pacific. Downes was given command of the largest of Porter’s prizes, the twenty-gun Atlantic, renamed the Essex Junior. As the British eventually captured both the Essex and the Essex Junior, they probably took possession of the logs and other official papers on board. Hence it is not surprising that Downes has left us no manuscripts of this cruise.
Downes’ next command was the former British Epervier, a brig recently captured by the Peacock, and now, after hurried repairs at Savannah, taken over by the U. S. Navy. Too late for further service in the war against England, the Epervier immediately joined a squadron mobilizing in New York for a punitive expedition against Algiers. Under cover of the recent war and by connivance of Great Britain, the Algerian Bey had seized an American merchantman and sold her crew into slavery. Shortly after his arrival in the Mediterranean, Decatur, on June 1, 1815, with two crushing broadsides in a surprise attack defeated the flagship of the Algerian Navy, the frigate Mashuda, and killed the Admiral, Rais Hammida. In this action Downes by skillful handling of the Epervier had thwarted a desperate last attempt of the Mashuda to escape to a nearby Spanish port. Two days later Downes, assisted by three brigs, made another prize, the Estido. The elimination in quick succession of two of Algier’s formidable naval force greatly helped Decatur in his determination to impose drastic terms on Algiers. On July i, 1815, the Epervier was sent to the United States with the new treaty but was never heard from again. On this same date Downes became the captain of the Guerrière, a new frigate named after Hull’s victory, and now Decatur’s flagship. After Decatur’s short shrift to the other pirates in the Mediterranean, Downes was left on the station in command of the Ontario.
One of Downes’s manuscripts comprises these three commands—Epervier, Guerrière, and Ontario. This journal deals for the most part with the usual routine. The entry for June 17, 1815, the date of the capture of the Mashuda, is crossed out and a blank space of a page and a half follows, as if a different interpretation of the big event of the day was to be inserted later. The scratched entry is colorless and gives no American ship the credit for the capture. Similarly, two days later when the Estido surrendered, the vague and general reference in the Epervier’s log is also followed by a large blank, which was never filled in. Under date of July 1, 1815, Decatur’s treaty with Algiers is announced thus: “Spied a strange sail to the eastward. . . . . Commodore said he had made peace on our conditions and not to molest the strange sail.” The entry of October 7, announces the termination of Decatur’s speedy mission in the Mediterranean as follows: “The frigates U. States and Constellation with the sloops Ontario and Erie are to remain. . . . . I took command of the Ontario. About 8:00 p.m. of Sunday the Guerrière got underweigh for America.” After watching the Mediterranean corsairs for two more years, Downes was ordered home, and one of his last entries, March 7, 1817, concludes his cruise: “Standing up Chesapeake Bay with a moderate breeze. . . . . At 7:45 came to with the starboard anchor and moored ship in three fathoms, three miles from Annapolis.”
Downes, in command of the frigate Macedonian, was next sent, by President Monroe, to the Pacific, there to protect American lives and property in the theater of the revolutions in Chile, Peru, and Mexico against Spain, which broke out after the Congress of Vienna and which were to be the preliminaries to the Monroe Doctrine. Bernardo O’Higgins, the son of an Irish trader and Spanish viceroy of Peru, had made himself dictator of Chile in the war of liberation. O’Higgins’ commander-in-chief of his navy was Lord Cochrane. The latter was Thomas Cochrane, tenth earl of Dundonald, 1775-1860, and an English naval officer. A keen critic of the abuses in the British Navy, he profited all his life by those abuses, had himself elected to Parliament, was imprisoned for complicity in fraudulent stock swindles, broke prison and was again incarcerated, became in turn commander-in-chief of the Chilean, Brazilian, and Greek Navies —the last in cooperation with Lord Byron and other liberators of Greece. By political maneuvering Cochrane next had himself reinstated in the British nobility and navy and received command of the fleet on the Atlantic and West Indies Stations. He was also an inventor of no mean ability in the early days of steam. In i860 Cochrane died and was buried in Westminster Abbey. It was against this able, aggressive, resourceful, and unscrupulous officer that Downes was chiefly pitted in his efforts to protect American interests in the Pacific. The copies of Downes’s correspondence with Cochrane, with the various viceroys and dictators, and with the Secretary of the Navy —recorded in the large folio Letter Book of Commodore John Downes—bear eloquent testimony to the difficulties of an officer with only one warship, who was literally between the devil and the deep sea.
For instance here is Downes’s protest to the viceroy of Mexico for the seizure of the American merchantmen Cossack and Traveller:
“U. S. Frigate Macedonian,
Acapulco, August 23, 1819
“To His Excellency, the Viceroy of Mexico,
“Sir:
“On my arrival at St. Blass I learned, with regret, that an American merchant brig, called the Cossack, had been recently captured on this coast in violation of that good faith, under which every vessel enters the port of a friendly nation. The circumstances of the capture of said brig were particularly aggravating. It appears that for the purpose of procuring supplies the commander was induced to enter a small port a little to the north’d of St. Blass, but instead of meeting with that friendly reception which he had a right to expect, the governor (under the pretence of returning the civilities of the captain) went on board with other officers and his boat’s crew. After having been received and treated with attention and civility, by an act of the blackest treachery, got possession of the vessel. I have been informed that the brig and cargo were sold and the proceeds distributed without even the form of a trial. I trust that it is only necessary to represent the circumstances to your Excellency to have justice done the injured, and merited punishment inflicted on the offenders.
“Enclosed is a letter addressed to your Excellency from the Spanish minister resident in the United States upon the subject of the capture of the American merchant schooner Traveller. The particular circumstances I have been informed your Excellency has been made acquainted with. The particulars as they have come to my knowledge are as follows: The owners of the Traveller (in consequence of having rendered many services to the government of upper California) received permission for the schooner to take a load of grain to Laretto, in lower California. On their arrival at Laretto they found the inhabitants in the utmost distress, not one bushel of grain in the place. Instead of taking advantage of the distress of the place (to charge an exorbitant price for their grain) it was sold to the government at a fair and moderate price. After landing the cargo and getting the vessel ready for sea, the owners went on shore to take leave of the Governor. While there, a number of persons boarded, took possession of, and carried her to Guaymas, where she was sold, and the proceeds distributed, and upon the owners proceeding to Guaymas and demanding the restoration of their property, they were thrown into prison. My object in visiting this coast was to demand their release, but on my arrival at St. Blass I learnt that they had been liberated, but that their property had not been restored. Having heard that your Excellency did not approve of the proceedings in the case of the Traveller, induces me to hope that the vessel and cargo will be restored. With respect to the Cossack, I know not under what pretext she was captured, but I have implicit confidence in the decision of your Excellency in the case of said brig. I contemplate returning to this coast in January next, when I hope to have the honor of receiving from your Excellency (at St. Blass) a communication upon the subject of the capture of the Traveller and Cossack. This ship has been sent into the Pacific for the protection of the American commerce, and I shall feel it my duty to treat all those (who interrupt vessels sailing under the American flag in prosecution of lawful voyages) as enemies.
“I trust that your Excellency feeling with myself, a disposition to preserve the friendly understanding existing between the two governments (of Spain and the United States) will have issued such orders to vessels of war sailing from the ports of Mexico as shall effectually prevent the interruption of American vessels in the prosecution of their voyages.
“I have the honor to assure your Excellency of my very high consideration and respect.
John Downes
Commander the U. S. Frigate Macedonian
The following letter to Lord Cochrane— who incidentally was a nephew of the Admiral Cochrane of the British fleet in Chesapeake Bay during the last year of the War of 1812—shows that the younger Cochrane still insisted on the right to impress American seamen:
U. S. Frigate Macedonian
Callao Bay, November 9, 1819
My Lord:
Having been informed that five American seamen (whose names are enclosed) a part of the brig Pallas’ crew, are held in confinement aboard your ship, it becomes my duty to demand their release (unless your Lordship has just cause for their detention). I have therefore to request that your Lordship will be pleased to deliver them up to Lieutenant Maury, the bearer of this note.
I have the honor to be,
Your Lordship’s most Obt. Servt,
John Downes
To Lord Cochrane
Admiral and Commander
in Chief of the
Chilean Naval Forces.
The next letter of Downes, to the Supreme Director of Chile (O’Higgins), shows the commodore’s irritation at discriminations in favor of other navies:
“U. S. Frigate Macedonian
Valparaiso, October 29, 1819
"To His Excellency,
The Supreme Director of Chile.
“Sir:
“I have the honor to address your Excellency upon a subject which I little anticipated; however experience proves to me how little this government is disposed to reciprocate civilities. It also further proves that the British ships of war in this port are treated with more liberality than ships of war belonging to the United States of North America. Whether they are entitled to such distinction, I leave for your Excellency to judge, when the sacrifices I have made to this government are taken into consideration. I, this morning, applied to the collector for permission to take from on board a merchant vessel in this harbor, a few pairs of shoes and a small quantity of spirits for the use of the officers of the Macedonian, and to my astonishment was informed that they could not be delivered without the duties being paid, although the Andromache could receive whatever she required free of duty; the collector states that he has an order from the government to that effect. Your Excellency must be aware that such distinctions will not be received by the government of the United States in a friendly light. I certainly had a right to expect more liberality towards me. I shall leave the port Valparaiso on Sunday next.
“I am with high consideration and respect, Your Excellency’s Most Obt. Servt.
John Downes.”
In behalf of the revolutionaries in Peru, Lord Cochrane with his Chilean naval force waged a successful campaign against the viceroy of Peru. In so doing he established a blockade, on paper, and showed little consideration for neutrals, as appears in the following excerpt from Downes’s report to the Secretary of the Navy of January 5, 1820:
“I have been, and am still at a loss to determine what line of conduct I ought to pursue with regard to the blockade of the coast of Peru by the Chilean Squadron under the command of Lord Cochrane. If he were to invest and continue before any particular place, or divide his ships and blockade a number of places, I should feel disposed to respect the blockade until I might receive instructions from my government, but the piratical warfare he is carrying on upon the coasts of Peru I cannot respect, and I feel it my duty, as far as the force under my command will enable me, to give protection to all American vessels both in entering and departing from any port of Peru, provided they have not on board contraband of war. The whole coast of Peru to the extent of twelve hundred miles, is declared to be in a state of rigorous blockade, and to enforce it, he has three frigates, one corvette and three brigs. The idea of a blockade to such an extent with so small a force is ridiculous. He has divided his force into squadrons for the purpose of plundering the small towns upon the coast which are defenseless; his sole object appears to be plunder; he continues but a few days before any particular place; under such circumstances I cannot consider any part of the coast of Peru as blockaded.
“Upon my arrival at Lima, I learned that the American brig Pallas has been captured on leaving the port of Callao, by Lord Cochrane. The Pallas has been engaged in the coasting trade from Callao (port of Lima) to different ports on the coast of Peru. The brig Canton, likewise employed in the coasting trade, was also taken, while I was at Lima, in a small port near Pisco, by one of Lord Cochrane’s squadron; the former in ballast, the latter with a cargo of wheat. In his conduct to American vessels, he appears to be governed alone by his private feelings, which I believe to be decidedly hostile. When I arrived at Lima, I found his ship (the O’ Higgins), a corvette and two brigs before the place. I received from him a communication with some extracts from the law of nations, copies of which marked Nos. 1 and 2 accompany this. No. 3 is my reply and No. 4 a few extracts from the opinions of Sir William Scott, one of the judges of the British prize Court of Admiralty, in reply to those he sent me. As Lord Cochrane disappeared the morning after my arrival and did not return during my stay, I could not send my answer to him, but as soon as I have an opportunity he shall receive it.
“With respect to the conduct of the viceroy of Peru, all the Americans that I have seen upon this coast who have had any business to do within his government speak in the highest terms of his generous and friendly conduct towards all Americans, and from his very polite and friendly conduct towards myself, I have no doubt but their statements are correct. I endeavoured to obtain from him all the Americans that were captured in the Chilean privateer brig Maysie, about fifteen in number, but I could only obtain the release of Mr. Bond of Baltimore and Thomas Bradshaw; the former was purser of the Maysie, the latter a seaman. I have no doubt, had I been going direct to the United States from Lima, but he would have given me all the Americans in confinement there. He partly promised that if I should return to Lima, I should have the remainder; he has also promised me the release of three men who are confined at Guayaquil. My letter to him upon the subject, I send a copy of, marked 6, and a translation of his reply, marked 7.”
In the war between Chile and Peru Commodore Downes played a strictly neutral role, but like the innocent bystander he was often the target of both sides, as appears in the following sharp protest to the viceroy of Peru:
“U. S. Frigate Macedonian,
Off Callao, Nov. 16, 1820.
“Most Excellent Sir:
“I have had the honor to receive your Excellency’s communications of the 14th and 15th inst.
“The attack upon my boat’s crew may have been an act of the mob, but the firing upon the American schooner Rampart must be considered as an act of the government. I beg leave to ask your Excellency, whether, if the crew of this ship were to open a fire upon a Spanish vessel, and nearly destroy her, and afterwards plunder her, you would be satisfied with my saying, that it was done by the sailors of my ship over whom the officers had no control? I can’t for a moment suppose it possible that any one would be so credulous as to believe such an absurdity. I assure your Excellency that the Rampart was not given up until yesterday, when I immediately called a survey upon her, and now send you a copy of the report. The damages have been estimated at eight thousand and eight dollars, which I trust your Excellency will order to be paid. In that act we shall see a disposition in your Excellency to re-establish the harmony which has been interrupted alone by the acts of those under your government. I must do your Excellency the justice to say that every individual act of yours, as far as comes within my knowledge, has evinced a most friendly disposition towards the flag of my Country; and I trust that in doing justice to the owners of the Rampart by making good their losses, you will let the world see, it is your wish to preserve a friendly understanding between the governments of Spain and the United States.
“May I beg that your Excellency will honor me with a reply as early as possible, it being my intention to sail on Sunday next.
“I am with high consideration, &C, &C, &C, &C,
John Downes
“His Excellency,
The Vice Roy of Peru,
Lima.”
On November 5, 1820, in Callao harbor, Cochrane with characteristic dash captured the Spanish frigate Esmeralda. In this fight he was not over particular for neutral rights. He asserted afterwards that the Macedonian and the British frigate Hyperion during the action raised position lights, which he instantly imitated, so that the confused shore batteries fired indiscriminately at neutral and belligerent vessels alike. Downes’s interpretation of the battle and its aftermath is given in the following report to the Secretary of the Navy:
“U. S. Frigate Macedonian,
Off Callao November 20, 1820.
“Sir:
“I wrote to you on the fifteenth of October from this place giving an account of my proceedings up to that date. I mentioned my intention to sail on the first of this month, but in consequence of the American merchant vessels requiring my protection, I have been obliged to remain until today, to enable the Americans to settle their business and get as much of their property on board as possible; still some considerable must be left behind. Nothing but the presence of the Macedonian, in my opinion, has saved the American property in this port. Between the Spaniard and the Chilean squadron a small part if any of our vessels would have escaped destruction.
“I shall now proceed to give you an account of events that have occurred since my last communication to the Navy Department. On the night of the 5th inst. the Spanish frigate Esmeralda was cut out of this port by Lord Cochrane, who commanded the enterprize in person and was the first man on board. The slaughter was great, about one hundred were killed on board the Esmeralda. Lord Cochrane lost fifteen and was shot through the thigh with a musket ball. As this ship lay near the Esmeralda in company with the merchant vessels, the cables were slipped and sail made, but before we could get out of gun shot, our cross jack yard was wounded, jib stay shot away and our fore shroud slightly injured; the merchant vessels received very little injury. The British frigate Hyperion, also in the port, received a shot in the hull and had a boat cut to pieces and her rigging considerably injured.
“The morning after the capture of the Esmeralda the market boat from this ship was, as usual, sent on shore. Upon landing she was fired into by the soldiers and stoned by the mob. Jacob T. Small, ship’s steward, and Michael Reading (Oy Sea) were killed; Midshipman Edward Y. Marshall was slightly wounded in the neck with a knife; Jacob Bull (Oy Sea) was shot through the body and left arm, Orson Briggs (Oy Sea) received several very severe wounds in the head and neck from knives. Anthy Humes, Barney Vantassel and Thos. Robinson, Oy Seamen, were slightly wounded, but they are all doing well. One man only escaped unhurt by swimming. The wounded were saved from being butchered by the timely interference of some Spanish officers who took them to the hospital, from whence I received them on the 10th inst.
“The people of Callao have murdered every foreigner they could lay their hands on, since the capture of the Esmeralda; some few Americans and Englishmen were saved by being put in prison. The third day after the massacre commenced several Americans, Englishmen, and other foreigners, who had secreted themselves on board the dismantled vessels in the port, and also in the fields in the vicinity of the town, were driven from their retreat by hunger and were butchered by the sanguinary Spaniards, who supposing that more were concealed, immediately proceeded to search the vessels and fields; many were found and butchered without mercy. Two in particular that they found in the field were murdered in a most barbarous manner; after being surrounded they begged for mercy on their knees but in vain. The barbarians proceeded to mangle them with their knives, and after a half-hour’s torture, they were literally cut to pieces. Many others were found and shared the same fate; the number that have fallen must be very considerable, as there were many foreigners in Callao, and but ten or twelve have escaped to the shipping.
"On the morning of the 8th the schooner Rampart of Baltimore, having a cargo to take on board, got under way and stood into the common anchorage along side of the Spanish shipping, under the batteries, and came to anchor. The gun boats immediately opened a fire of musketry upon her. The captain supposing they wished him to retire out of gun shot, where he had lain since the affair of the Esmeralda, immediately got under way, when the shipping and whole line of batteries opened their fire upon the schooner. The captain believing that if he struck his colours and anchored they would cease firing, did so, but finding they still continued he left the vessel with his crew in his boat and escaped unhurt although the round and grape shot fell like hail around him until out of gun shot; the schooner was immediately boarded by boats from the shipping and from the shore. She was towed in among the shipping where they stripped and plundered her of every article that could be carried off. Not knowing why the attack was made upon the schooner, I deemed it unsafe to communicate with the ship in the usual way, which was through one of the vessels of war, in the port. I therefore sent my communications to the Vice King by a flag of truce, which was met by one from shore. On the following day, I again communicated by a flag which was also met by one from the shore, when being advised that war did not exist between Spain and the United States, the communications under a flag of truce, were discontinued. I have enclosed to you copies of my correspondence with the Spanish authorities at this place, relative to the outrages which have been committed on the American Flag.
“The schooner was not given up to me until the 15th. I have since repaired her and she remains to take on board her cargo; I doubt whether she will escape the Chile squadron. I received from Lord Cochrane a few days since, a letter enclosing a communication which he had received from Guayaquil, giving an account of the revolution that has taken place in that province. I send a copy of his Lordship’s letter marked 9 with a copy of the communication from Guayaquil marked 10. I have this morning received from the Vice King his last communication upon the subject of the Rampart.
“I have just passed the Chilean blockading squadron (at anchor) consisting of the O’Higgins, Lantaro, Esmeralda and Independencea; they did not even attempt to speak us. The brig Dick of Baltimore will leave me tonight or early tomorrow bound to Rio Janeiro and the United States. By her I send this despatch. The brigs Savage of Baltimore and Pallas of Boston are bound to Guayaquil and will continue under my convoy as far as Samanco in the latitude of 90 17' S., at which place the ships Panther of Boston and Zephyr of Providence are to take in a part of their cargoes. From thence I shall convoy them to Payta where they are to take in the remainder, after which see them safe off the coast. I shall then proceed to Mollendo in the latitude of 160 50' S., where I have been requested to call and take on board considerable money belonging to the Americans that are here. From thence I shall proceed to Coquimbo and Valparaiso where I may possibly arrive by the middle of January.
“I have the honor to be &C, &C, &C, &C,
John Downes
“The Honorable
Smith Thompson
Secretary of the Navy
Washington’’
Two months after Downes’s above report, Cochrane seized the American merchant ship Louisa, and paid no attention to Downes’s protests. After waiting a month Downes took matters into his own hands and freed the Louisa. In a final protest to O’Higgins against the "pernicious conduct” of Cochrane he adds: “It appears to me that his Lordship is determined if possible to destroy the American commerce on this coast; and to effect his purpose he, after capturing a vessel, detains her until the cargo is damaged; then if she be cleared, the property is lost to the owners and his Lordship’s ends are accomplished.”
Both the United States and Great Britain had developed a very lucrative trade with Spanish American countries since the Congress of Vienna—a trade which would be lost if Spain reconquered her revolted colonies. We have followed Commodore Downes in a few of his arduous attempts to protect American commerce. At times he was hard put to it to avoid war. Often he had to content himself with the statement, "I will report the matter to my government.” His government was months distant in the communications of that day. Two years after Downes’s return to the United States, President Monroe delivered his now famous message. Then and on later occasions, Monroe reiterated that his declaration was necessary for "our peace and safety.” Commodore Downes’s experiences in the Pacific bear out the President’s contention that American peace and safety were always in danger during these years.
Downes, who like all officers of that day had had experience only with frigates and smaller units of the Navy, now had his turn with one of the recently built ships of the line, the Delaivare. At first he was much worried by this type of big battleship, then new in our Navy, which had been made famous by Nelson and his colleagues during the French Revolution. At the termination of a successful voyage in the Delaware to the Mediterranean, Downes writes enthusiastically to the Navy Department of her sailing qualities:
“I have the honor to inform you that I anchored the Delaware here this evening after a very unpleasant passage of thirty- four days. We have experienced several heavy gales of wind, sufficient to test the qualities of the ship, and I can with confidence say she is a first rate ship of her class; she is an excellent sea boat, perfectly easy upon her rigging and sails fast. She will go ten knots close by the wind and I think few ships will sail faster. I shall leave here tomorrow morning as soon as I can communicate with the shore, and proceed for Leghorn.”
After his arrival in the Mediterranean Downes was transferred to the Java, in which he was to protect American interests in the Near East. At this time, just 100 years ago, the Greek War of Liberation was going on, in which Lord Cochrane was playing one of his varied roles, but Downes does not mention "his Lordship.” In the following excerpt from a letter to the senior American officer in the Mediterranean, Commodore William M. Crane, Downes draws a humorous picture of another well known character of this war, Miaules, Greek admiral under Cochrane. The letter is found in the Station Bill and Letter Book of the U.S.S. Java, and is in part as follows: “The Warren returned here last night from convoying the brig Delos to the Dardanelles. Captain Kearney states that he fell in with the Hellas, frigate, Admiral Miaules, off Cape Baba yesterday morning, and sent his boat on board of her. He learned that Miaules had attacked and driven on shore under the fort at Cape Baba a Turkish corvette of twenty-six guns which had just been built at Mytilene for the Grand Senior and a brig loaded with oil, also for the Grand Turk, after discharging 300 shot at them and the fort under which they were at anchor. He received a note from the head of the Greek Church at that place stating that the Turks had threatened to kill all the Greeks in the place (there are many there) if he destroyed the fort. Miaules therefore hauled off. Captain Kearney stood close in and saw the people discharging the cargo and stripping both vessels. It appeared that the vessels were run upon the beach to keep them from sinking. Whenever the wind hauls to the westerd they must immediately go to pieces as there is no shelter for them in that direction. Miaules with a brig in company intends to watch them until they go to pieces. He states that he must have killed at least 300 of the Turks; that is calculating a Turk for every gun fired from the Hellas, and that he saw a great many lying dead upon the beach. I think if he killed thirty he did well. I do not believe that he destroyed more. Miaules says that there is no danger from pirates, that he has destroyed forty large boats during his cruise or within the last seven months and not because they had committed piracies, but because they were apparently calculated for that service only.” Downes's next and last sea command was the frigate Potomac, sister ship of the Brandywine, Savannah, Santee, Raritan, Congress, and Cumberland, which took part in the Mexican and Civil Wars and in achievements were not unworthy of the famous early frigates of the Constitution and Constellation class. On February 7, 1831, the piratical Malays of Quallah Battoo, Sumatra, had looted the American merchantman Friendship and murdered three of her crew. When word of this outrage reached the United States, President Jack- son dispatched Commodore Downes to Sumatra to exact summary punishment for the piracy. The Quallah Battooans sold pepper to American merchants, some of whom were not above loading the scale weights with lead. The natives were skilled surfmen, brave, and treacherous. In his surprise attack, February 6, 1832, Downes burned their huts, blew up their main fort, and killed 150 natives, among them Po Mahomet, the chief most concerned in the Friendship affair. Downes’s report of the attack is as follows:
“U. S. Frigate Potomac,
Off Soo Soo, Coast of Sumatra,
February 17, 1832.
“Sir:
“I have the honor to acquaint you with the arrival of the Potomac on this coast upon the 5th inst. I anchored off Quallah Battoo, distance about three miles, my object in so doing, being to prevent discovery of the character of the ship, which I had taken care previously to disguise so effectually, that a number of fishermen, who came on board after I had anchored, did not discover that she was other than a merchant ship, until they came over the side. They were detained on board till after the capture of Quallah Battoo.
“Finding no vessels on the coast, I could obtain no information, in addition to that already possessed, respecting the nature of the Government, the piratical character of the population or the flagrant circumstances of the injury done to the Friendship.
“No demand for satisfaction was made previous to my attack, because I was satisfied from what knowledge I had already of the character of the people, that no such demand would be answered except only by refusal, and that such refusal would proceed from want of ability as well as of inclination, it being a habit, among the people, to spend their money as soon as obtained.
“Soon after anchoring, Lieutenants Shu- brick, Pinkham, Hoff, Ingersoll and Edison of Marines, together with Pass’d Midshipmen Totten and Tooley went on shore in the whale boat, for the purpose of learning the situation of the town and forts; but everything being built in close concealment, they were unable to arrive at any satisfactory result, except as to one of the forts erected immediately at the place of landing.
“No precautions were taken to cut off the opportunity of escape from any of the inhabitants of the town, the nature of the place rendering it absolutely impossible, situated as it is, in the midst of wood and jungle, impenetrable, except by private passages known only to the natives.
“As soon as it became sufficiently dark to prevent our movements from discovery by the people on shore, the boats were hoisted out and every preparation made for the landing, which was effective about daybreak, of the 6th inst. The party under the command of Lieutenant Shubrick consisted of two hundred and fifty men.
"I adopted this move of enforcing our demands in hopes of getting possession of the persons of the rajahs by surrounding and surprising the forts in which they usually reside and thus most probably inducing the payment of money for their ransom. I regret to say, however, that in consequence of their desperate fighting, neither giving nor receiving quarter, no prisoners were made, nor was any property found belonging to the Friendship, save the medicine chest.
“Lieutenant Shubrick has my warmest acknowledgment for the able and gallant manner in which he conducted the expedition, and I enclose herewith that gentleman’s report wherein he gives a detailed account of the attack together with other particulars.
“The midshipmen who were on shore and engaged in the action but not named by Lieutenant Shubrick, were William May in the first division under Lieutenant Pink- ham, Messrs. Alonzo B. Davis, Jas. G. Stanley and Charles W. Morris of the second division commanded by Lieutenant Hoff —and of the third division under command of Lieutenant Ingersoll, Messrs. Chas. Hunter, Eugene Boyle and James S. Parker, with Midshipman George T. Sinclair in the launch.
“Their gallantry and good conduct in the action are spoken of as deserving the highest praise.
“In consequence of the fort situated south of the river having fired upon our men while attacking Quallah Battoo, I ran in with the ship and fired about three broadsides into it when a white flag was hoisted. Upon this I ceased firing, soon after got underway and stood for this anchorage where I am taking on board wood and water.
“While lying here a flag of truce has been sent off from Quallah Battoo and I was informed by the bearer of the same that a great many had been killed on shore and that all the property there had been destroyed. He begged that I would grant them peace. I stated to him that I had been sent here to demand restitution of the property taken from the Friendship and to insist on the punishment of those persons who were concerned in the outrage committed on the individuals of that ship.
“Finding it impossible to effect either object, I said to him that I was satisfied with what had already been done, and I granted them the peace for which they begged. I at the same time assured him that if forbearance should not be exercised hereafter from committing piracies and murders upon American citizens, other ships of war would be dispatched to inflict upon them further punishment.
“Several Rajahs from towns in this vicinity have visited my ship and others, who are distant, have sent deputations to me. All of them have declared their friendly disposition toward the Americans and their desire to obtain our friendship. Corresponding assurances were given on my part and they left the ship apparently well satisfied.
“Having obtained wood and water and refreshed my crew, I shall leave here tomorrow for Batavia.
“I have the honor to be
Very Respectfully,
Yr. Obedt. Servt.
“Honorable Levi Woodbury
Secretary of the Navy,
Washington City.”
The punishment inflicted by Downes on the Sumatrans seemed to many critics in the United States unduly harsh. Downes was accordingly required by the Secretary of the Navy to explain further why he attacked without first making his demands for reparations. In his reply, dated a year later, he repeats the many reports of the cunning and treachery of the Sumatrans, and adds:
“I learned the natives had made several recent attempts to cut off vessels, and that the Quallah Battooans in particular, were notoriously the greatest pirates on the coast of Sumatra; that they even extended their depredations to the coast of Java where they were never known to spare man, woman or child which had unfortunately fallen into their hands. . . . . The character of the people against whom I had to operate left me no room to doubt that a movement prompt and efficient in its character could alone carry with it the least possible hopes of success. . . . . the coast was to be made, the town approached and the character of the vessel concealed, a landing effected through a dangerous surf, and the place surrounded before the Malays could penetrate our true character or know the object of our visit.”
Ten months later 3,000 Dutch troops were massacred in one night by the natives of Sumatra.1 But American merchantmen were not again molested for five years—a record which shows that Downes’s methods, if drastic, at least made an impression. It is characteristic of Andrew Jackson that he thoroughly approved of Downes’s course at Quallah Battoo.
After a few stops at Java and Chinese ports Downes headed across the Pacific. From the Log of the Potomac it appears that life on board was not all dull routine. Under date of February 22, 1832, occurs this entry: “At meridian hoisted the Ensign and fired a salute of seventeen guns in commemoration of the hundredth anniversary of the birthday of George Washington.” In honor of the day, the commodore, who loved a joke and hated drunkenness, allowed the crew an extra portion of grog— the extra part consisting of water. The ship’s company published a weekly, The Rip Van Winkle, Jr. They also had a pretentious dramatic club. On the arrival of the Potomac at Honolulu, July 24, 1832, the chief and chiefess of the Sandwich Islands, as Hawaii was then called, were right royally entertained in their palace by these Thespians. At Honolulu the crew had leave, their first in a year, and they made full use of it in the regular sailor fashion of those days, by getting thoroughly drunk and leaving all their savings and self-respect ashore.
President Jackson had ordered Downes to straighten out a religious quarrel that had been fomented by various foreign residents on the islands. “The Commodore in a mild, though decisive, tone explained to the chiefs and queen regent, that in England, the United States, and other countries, persons were not punished for their religious opinions.” Downes’s advice made an impression and the forty native Catholic converts were freed from slavery.2 This achievement, to which there is no reference either in the Letter Book or the Log of the Potomac, shows the commodore to have been a diplomat and a man of generous and broadminded impulses.
1 The Cruise of the Potomac by Francis Warriner (the schoolmaster of the Potomac), p. 94.
2 Voyage of the Potomac by J. N. Reynolds, 418 ff.; Cruise of the Potomac by Francis Warriner, 234; Diplomatic Negotiations of American Naval Officers by C. O. Paullin, 343; America’s Foreign Relations by W. F. Johnson, I, 506.
The Log of the Potomac, under date of August 16, 1832, thus announces the termination of the visit to Hawaii: “At 10, received on board, with military honors, his Majesty Kanikeaouli, King of the Sandwich Islands, and suite. At 10:50 got underway and stood out of the Roads of Honolulu.”
Commodore Downes’s methods of handling an emergency are seen in his report on a smallpox epidemic that now broke out in the Potomac. Although Dr. Jenner had performed his great experiment a generation before, many were still violently opposed to vaccination. To be sure Downes had witnessed the working of the new preventive for smallpox in his earlier days. For example, the Log of the Guerriere, September 7, 1815, when a sailor contracted this dread disease, informs us, “All hands were immediately called, and all those who had not had it were innocculated with the kinepox.” The report on the Potomac’s epidemic follows:
“In my communication to the department of the 15th ulto., I stated that another case of the smallpox had made its appearance on board, in addition to those already reported in my previous communications. This case was so mild in character that the immediate removal of the man on shore, before others could possibly receive the contagion from him, left me strong hopes it might be the last.
“In this expectation, however, I was disappointed, as another case was reported on the morning of the 17th, proving incontestibly, that the seeds of the disease were in the ship, and that the contagion would slowly, though certainly, spread, among such as were susceptible of it.
“Under these circumstances I could not longer hesitate to adopt the plan previously mentioned of general inocculation. Accordingly on the same day the ship was put in quarantine, arrangements made to put the crew on suitable diet, and all who had never had the smallpox, were inocculated; the officers coming forward, and setting the example.
“Of the two hundred and eighty inocculated, seventy two only have taken the disease, a number sufficient however to show what our sufferings might have been, had the contagion been allowed to spread in its natural way.
“At present there are thirty-seven on the list, all convalescent—indeed only five can be said to have had the disease severely—so that in a few days I shall be able to leave for Peru, with but little fear of future annoyance.
“Of the services rendered by the vessels under my command, during the past month, I have to remark that from Captain Gregory, of the Falmouth, or Captain Long of the schooner Dolphin, I have received no communication since my arrival in this port —while the Potomac has had frequent occasions of being useful to our whale ships, which assemble in this and Tongoy Bays, in this season of the year, in search of whales —one of these, lying in quarantine, from the smallpox, contracted in Conception, has been daily and successfully attended by the surgeon and assistants of the Potomac."
The latter part of the above report incidentally recalls to us that the Potomac was the American flagship in the Pacific. The remaining two of Downes’s far-flung squadron were the brig Falmouth and the schooner Dolphin. Ever since his early days with Porter at Valparaiso, Downes had taken great interest in our growing whaling industry. On his present cruise he visited the Galapagos Islands—made famous by Porter and himself twenty years before. He now made them the subject of a special report as an excellent base for water, supplies, and refitting for American whalers. The following excerpt from another letter, written about the same time to the Navy Department, reiterates his earlier suggestions for the need of more naval protection for the whalers and shows a prophetic vision of the importance of the Pacific today:
“But this does not comprehend the whole of the Pacific station. Stretching off from the coast a new and extensive world is opened to the west, among the Islands; in the present important and daily increasing interests of the whale fishery, the nature of the business, the amount of tonnage and capital employed, all render it an especial object of the national care. The subject is too full to attempt particulars; the number of whale ships touching annually at these Islands and on this coast, is not unknown to the department; no one can behold these hardy, silent and persevering efforts of our countrymen, without a feeling of exultation and pride. They are confined to no sea, or clime, and often perform the circumnavigation of the globe in making a single voyage.
“The numerous difficulties they encounter, and the daily complaints amongst them show that they have been too long neglected; and that the Islands being a part of the Pacific station, a vessel of the squadron should be dispatched at regular intervals to perform a cruise amongst them, and this not for one time, but to be continued.
“Everything conspires to render the Pacific a place of great interest to the people of the United States at the present time—our future sea fights are as likely to take place here, as on the Atlantic Ocean; for here we are acquiring a preponderating commercial interest, and here must be our Navy also.”
The great cruise of the Potomac ended with her arrival in Boston, May 23, 1834. She had circumnavigated the globe from west to east, the first American warship to make the trip in this direction. The last paragraph of Downes’s final report thus summarizes the cruise:
“During the cruise of the Potomac, she has touched at Rio de Janeiro twice; Cape of Good Hope, Quallah Battoo and Soo Soo, coast of Sumatra; Bantam Bay and Batavia, Island of Java; Macao and Lintin, China; Sandwich and Society Islands; Valparaiso three times; Callao the same; Coquimbo, Payta, Galapagos Islands and Puna, Bay of Guayaquil; boarding while on her station in the Pacific seventy-one American vessels, amounting to over 18,000 tons of shipping and manned by upwards of 1,100 men; has sailed over 61,000 miles and been at sea 514 days. During this time, and in sailing this distance, through every climate, in her voyage around the world, all hands have never been called but once at night, and that three days out from New York; nor has she had a spar carried away, or lost a man by casualty, or had one seriously injured.”
The Potomac was Downes’s last sea command. Except for two tours of duty as commandant of the Boston Navy Yard (1837-42 and 1850-52), Commodore Downes spent the rest of his life “on waiting orders.” It is strange that even during the Mexican War fully half of the sixty-odd captains in the Navy were on waiting orders, that is, idle with reduced pay. On this waiting list were some of the best known officers of the old Navy. Downes, for example, was not called to active service during the Mexican War. Probably these long waiting tours were generally due to lack of ships and shore commands.
Perhaps the best phase of Commodore Downes’s character is shown by his attitude towards his officers and men. A perusal of his letters gives one the conviction that he had a happy ship. He seemed eminently just, was not a “sundowner,” and looked for and usually found the better side of human nature. The following is fairly typical of his semi-annual reports on his officers:
“I shall proceed to perform that part of my duty which requires that I should report to the Navy Department the characters of my officers. I will commence with Mr. John M. Maury, first lieutenant of this ship. He has been under my command since March, 1814 (except for one year that he was with his friends during which time I was attached to a ship in ordinary), and during that time I have never known him to commit the most trifling impropriety. As a moral man, in the strict sense of the word, as a gentleman and officer, I think he stands preeminent. There are many officers who would make good first lieutenants, but give them a command and they would make but indifferent commanders. Yet with respect to Lieutenant Maury it is otherwise. Whenever he is placed in command I am satisfied he will excell as a commander as he has excelled as a first lieutenant; indeed too much praise cannot be given him, as a moral man, a gentleman, officer or seaman. He is also an excellent navigator.”
“Midshipmen Henry Eagle and Alexander Slidell are young men of great promise and I have no doubt will make distinguished officers; they are very active, sober and attentive to their duty. Mr. Eagle, in particular, I think one of the finest young men I ever met with. Midshipman Edward G. Marshall is a very promising young man, of sober habits and attentive to duty and I believe will make a good officer. Midshipmen Marmaduke Dove and Glenn Humphreys are two of the finest and most promising boys I ever met with; they appear to possess every requisite to form the officer and gentleman.
“Midshipman ----- -----, I am sorry to say, has not been so attentive to his duty as he might have been, and therefore I cannot speak of him in the high terms I could wish. Although I have not much to say against him, yet I have not much to say in his favor; he is certainly active and attentive at times, and is a young man of good capacity and may in time make a good officer; he is one of those of whom not much can be said either for or against.
“Midshipman Albert E. Downes has been with me during the cruise. He is my brother; I have only to say that he is a boy of steady habits.”
When the Macedonian, en route to Chile, was dismasted in a severe gale, Downes’s report was concerned almost entirely with the conduct of his officers. It is as follows: “I cannot but notice with pleasure the good conduct of my officers in general; every exertion was made by them to carry my orders into effect. From Lieutenant Percival’s experience as a seaman I received essential service; I beg leave to recommend him to the notice of the Navy Department as a first rate seaman and excellent officer. I must also observe that the act of Midshipmen Pinckney and Heron in cutting away the top masts was one of great heroism and I trust that their conduct upon this occasion will be duly appreciated.”
But Downes could also on occasions write quite a different sort of letter. On a day when overindulgence in alcohol was winked at, Commodore Downes made no bones of reporting officers for drunkenness. The dignity of the officer was to the Commodore also very important. Of this fact Lieutenant Josiah Tattnall was made keenly aware on the occasion reported in the following letter to the Secretary of the Navy:
“U. S. Frigate Macedonian,
Coquimbo, August 30, 1820.
“Sir:
“Having had Lieutenant Josiah Tattnall under arrest for several months and not wishing to keep him longer out here, as no opportunity will offer to try him by court martial until this ship returns to the United States, I have agreed to his request and permitted him to leave this ship to return to the United States but still under arrest. I enclose to you the charges and specifications under which he is arrested. I shall also state to you the particular circumstances that led to the arrest; they are as follows: Samuel Thompson, a quarter gunner, on the evening of January 9, having got a little intoxicated, was brought before me and I directed him to be confined, when he observed, ‘Captain Downes, there is cruelty and tyranny practiced on the ship more than you know of.’ I told him I should inquire into that in the morning, and if I found his accusations without foundation I should certainly punish him. On the following morning all hands were called to witness punishment. I directed Samuel Thompson to state the particular cases wherein any of the men had been treated with cruelty; he commenced by stating that Lieutenant Tattnall had punished I. Hellings by inflicting on him twenty-eight lashes with a rope’s end; and was going on to name other officers who had punished men severely when he was interrupted by Lieutenant Tattnall, who said it was false and requested me to have the man Hellings called. He, Hellings, said it was true that Mr. Tattnall had punished him with more than two dozen lashes. Understanding that Thompson had no recent improper punishment to complain of, I directed him to be released. Lieutenant Tattnall immediately stepped forward and said, ‘I hope you are not going to let that damned rascal off without punishment; if you do I hope you will excuse me from doing any more duty on board this ship.’ I told him I was the proper person to judge when it was necessary to punish a man, and again said to Thompson, ‘Go to your duty,’ upon which Lieutenant Tattnall, in a violent passion, with a flourish of his sword, observed, ‘If that damned scoundrel is not punished, I cannot think of doing any more duty on the ship.’ Such outrageous conduct in the presence of the ship’s company required an immediate check. I therefore arrested him on the spot and ordered him to his room. I expected and hoped for several months that he would come forward and acknowledge his error, when I should have withdrawn his arrest, but he appears obstinately bent upon being tried by a court martial. I am, therefore, under the necessity of preferring charges against him and requesting that you will be pleased on the arrival of this ship in the United States to order a court martial for his trial. I have directed him on his arrival in the United States to report himself to you.
“I have the honor to be with great respect, “John Downes
“To the Honorable
Smith Thompson,
Secretary of the Navy,
Washington.”
Josiah Tattnall later made a distinguished name for himself, especially in the Mexican War. While in command of the Asiatic Squadron in 1857 he gave some assistance to the British and French fleets against the Chinese and explained his conduct subsequently by the now famous remark, “Blood is thicker than water.” He later served with distinction in the Confederate Navy. It is evident from the above quotation and also from the following letter that Commodore Downes appreciated the finer qualities that later developed in Tattnall, while he was big enough to overlook the stubbornness and insubordination of the younger officer:
“Although Lieutenant Josiah Tattnall left this ship nine months since, I still consider it my duty to pay a just tribute to exalted merit like his; he appears to have grasped intuitively (what others have been many years without acquiring) an extensive knowledge of his profession.
“I was of opinion that the good of the service required he should be made sensible of his error, and in all my proceedings against him, I have had that object alone in view. I should consider Mr. Tattnall’s leaving the service as a serious loss to his country. I shall be happy to refer the decision of the case entirely to your better judgment.”
In conclusion we may say that Commodore John Downes was what he calls some of his ablest subordinates, an excellent seaman and navigator. Moreover, at Tripoli, Valparaiso, Algiers, and Quallah Battoo, Downes displayed unusual daring, initiative, and willingness to assume responsibility— qualities which are generally regarded as among the most indispensable for an officer. With a keen sense of honor, yet without undue jingoism, Commodore Downes showed at all times that the interests of the service and of the country came first. He contributed no small part towards the up-building of the American merchant marine, which culminated, about the time of his death in 1854, in the clipper era. In his dealings with his officers and men he was human and generous, somewhat like Farragut, who once condoned an offense of a repentant subordinate with the remark, “All men make mistakes—and some women.”