William Jones, New Secretary of the Navy

From "Inside the U.S. Navy of 1812-1815"  

When William Jones became Secretary of the Navy, he discovered he had inherited from his predecessor, Paul Hamilton, several burdens.  One was the Navy Department's posture in regard to  the concerns of citizens for the safety of their ports and shipping with the increasing British threat as forces were transferred from Europe to North America after the fall of Napoleon.

One of his earliest was an order for the reduction in the number of gunboats in service.  He believed  This would save funds on maintenance and put available seamen to better use.  Only 50 of the approximately 150 gunboats were sufficiently serviceable to remain active; the rest would be laid up and available in case of emergency.

Of those gunboats in service, Jones assigned 15 to New York, 5 to the Delaware River, 6 to the Georgia coast and 10 to New Orleans.  Fourteen remained  active on the Chesapeake Bay (mostly  assigned to Norfolk).

But these measures did not go over very well in several cities whose citizens were not happy with the move.  This was especially in the case of New York City and its new flotilla commander Jacob Lewis.

--Brock-Perry

Some More on Richard Hill of the New York Flotilla's Gunboat No. 47

From "African American Historic Burial Grounds" by Glenn A. Knoblock.

Richard Hill (ca. 1792-1861)  Born in Maine according to census records and living in Portland, Maine, by 1830.  Served on Gunboat 47, part of the New York Flotilla during the War of 1812.

Gunboats such as he served on were small sloop or schooner rigged vessels about fifty feet long manned by a crew of about 40 and carried several guns.  The gunboats of the New York Flotilla saw quite a bit of action in Long Island Sound, and some of them, possibly including Hill's vessel were present at the Battle of Baltimore and witnessed the bombardment of Fort McHenry.

After the war, his whereabouts were not known until 1830, but it seemed he served as a sailor.  he was married by 1830 and had at least one child, a son named Richard, and worked as a laborer.

He was a widower when he was shot to death by his troubled son Richard on September 12, 1861.

--Brock-Perry

Jacob Lewis Writes Sec. of War Monroe About the N.Y. Flotilla-- Part 2

"Gunboats hitherto have been held in the utmost contempt, owing to a false prejudice the inhabitants of  this vast City now begin to believe, that the City cannot be defended without the Auxillary force of this floating defence."

He has gotten many requests from the First masters of New York ships to joining his flotilla and that he could have a hundred of them if he chose.

Plus, he feels their is a "prejudice of the Navy against G Boats" because the Navy Department means that appropriations to the gunboats mean there is less for regular warships like frigates.

"Gun Boats take the place of Frigates in the defence of harbours therefore frigates instead of being employ'd for that purpose go on the bosom of the Ocean and Cruize for Glory & pelf."

In case you're wondering, pelf means money.  In the case of frigates that would be prize money from captures of British ships and shipping. (I had to look it up myself.)

--Brock-Perry

Jacob Lewis & the New York Flotilla-- Part 2: Problems Facing Lewis

Lewis feared that his flotilla would be greatly weakened through drafts of his crews for other duties  These fears were realized when he was asked to recruit for the Lake Champlain service.  Secretary of Navy William Jones also didn't spare New York from the gunboat reduction order.

On 26 February, he was ordered to further reduce his force to fifteen  gun vessels.

Public reaction to this reduction was not very favorable.

In February 6, 1863, he wrote to Secretary Jones saying that he still needed 350 men but that the Rendezvous (place to get recruits) in New York City was closed for lack of money to pay the recruits.  "I am very much apprehensive that the Flotilla which I have the honor to Command will fall very short of that state of preparation which may be expected...."

--Brock-Perry

Richard Hill Gets His Due-- Part 3: His Story

Historian Hern Adams of Portland, Maine, has found information on the life of Richard Hill, including newspaper accounts of his death. 

Hill was born about 1792, but it is not clear if he was born in Portland or moved there later in life.  records show that during the War of 1812, he served on the  U.S. Gunboat  47 with the New York Flotilla.

"The U.S. Navy was not segregated then, and that might have been the first time in his life that Hill was on equal footing with his co-workers," Adams said.  His gunboat was probably in  Baltimore Harbor on  September 14, 1814, when the British shelled Fort McHenry.  "Both Hill and Key witnessed one of the iconic moments of U.S. history," according to Adams.

I have not been able to find if Gunboat 47 was at the battle.

After the war, he returned to Portland and worked as a common laborer.  He was one of 400 Blacks who lived in  neighborhoods  at the foot of Munjoy Hill.  At one point, he applied for and received 160 acres of government land in the Ohio hills as an 1812 veteran.  Adams said Hill probably sold it for a fraction of what it was worth.

That was the only veterans benefit he ever received (well, now he has the government-issued headstone, even with the incorrect death date).

--Brock-Perry

Black War of 1812 Sailor Richard Hill gets His Due in Portland, Maine

From the September 15, 2012,  WMTW Channel 8, ABC, Portland (Maine)  "War of 1812 veteran gets his due." 

Yesterday, I included the name Richard Hill, a seaman on the Gunboat 47 in the New York Flotilla during the War of 1812, who is buried at Portland, Maine's Eastern Cemetery.

Seaman Richard Hill, a black man who fought in the War of 1812,  has finally received honors at Portland, Maine's Eastern Cemetery,  150 years after his death in 1861.

The honors were delivered Saturday by the local American Legion and veterans of Foreign Wars posts.

His new headstone, paid for by the federal government,  stands beside the graves of Portland's Black American Revolution veterans who are buried in the historic cemetery.

The Portland Press-Herald newspaper said Larry Glatz of  South Portland came across Hill's name while researching Portland residents who served in the country's federal forces during the War of 1812.

Richard Hill is believed to have witnessed the British attack on Fort McHenry which inspired Francis Scott Key to write the words to "The Star-Spangled Banner."

He was killed by his own son in 1861.

His gravestone says that he served on Gunboat 47 of the New York Flotilla.  I can't find out anything about this gunboat.

--Brock-Perry

War of 1812 Veterans Buried in Portland's Eastern Cemetery-- Part 4

**  SGT. JAMES HENLEY

Mass Militia  1782  1843

**  SEAMAN RICHARD HILL

Gunboat 47, New York Flotilla 1792 Sept. 12, 1881

**  PVT. DANIEL HOW

Died  Sept. 16, 1819, age 57

**  SGT. JOHN SIMON HOW

Died June 26, 1859

**  CAPT. JOSEPH HOW

Died Aug. , 1820

**  CORP. NATHAN HOWE  

Mass Militia  1781  1859

**  GEORGE INGRAHAM

Mass Militia   1795  1875

**  DEACON WILLIAM JENKS

So, the Hows.  --Brock-Perry

U.S.Navy in War of 1812-- Part 6: Three Objectives in the War

The U.S. Navy began the War of 1812 with three objectives:  defend the maritime frontier,  capture enemy warships and merchantmen,  and maintain naval superiority on the Great Lakes.

Defending the maritime frontier meant defending American ports with gunboats, barges or other small craft.  This consumed about half of the Navy's personnel, even that was not adequate to man every vessel.

Early in the war, Congress authorized another $2 million to this area of operations.  These warships, however, were entirely ineffectual against the British unless supported by land-based defenses.  They would occasionally discourage small British vessels from entering harbors or landing.  But, if an entire British squadron attacks, they were useless.

--Brock-Perry

U.S. Navy in War of 1812-- Part 4: Woefully Unprepared to Take on Britain

To say the U.S. Navy was in no shape to fight the British Navy is a huge understatement.  In 1812, the British Navy included 130 ships of the line mounting 60-120 guns and 600 frigates and smaller warships.

The U.S. Navy at the time had 7 frigates fit for the sea, 3 frigates needing repairs, 8 brigs, schooners or sloops, and 165 gunboats (of which 103 were in ordinary or in need of repairs).  The Navy was never large at any time and almost evaporated after hostilities ended with Tripoli in 1805.

Further cuts continued even after the Chesapeake-Leopard Affair and even up to 1810, despite worsening tensions with Britain.

Naval historian Charles O. Paullin described the shape of the U.S. Navy when war was declared being "unprepared in every essential means, instrument, and material of naval warfare.  It had no dry docks.  It had few ships.  With the exception of the naval establishment at Washington, the navy-yards were in a state of neglect and decay."

Thankfully for our Navy, Napoleon in France had the British attention, nor had they expected a declaration of war.    Of all the British ships, just one ship of the line, 7 frigates and a dozen smaller warships were operating out of the main base in Halifax, Canada.

--Brock-Perry

Oliver Hazard Perry and the USS Revenge Sinking-- Part 1

From Wikipedia.

Oliver Hazard Perry was appointed a midshipman in 1799.  In the First Barbary War, he served on the USS Adams and later became a first lieutenant and second in command of the USS Nautilus.

He then served under Captain John Rodgers on the USS Constitution and then on the USS Essex.

After that, he was placed in charge of the construction of gunboats in Newport and Westerly, Connecticut.

In April 1809, he commanded the sloop USS Revenge and did patrol duties off New England to enforce the Embargo Act.  He also led a successful raid which resulted in the recapture of an American ship held in Spanish Territory in Florida.

--Brock-Perry

Hurricanes: 1813 St. Marys, Georgia-- Part 5: Fernadina, Fla. Hit Too

"Gunboats ashore shouldn't be too damaged, a few new boats, 3 or 4 cables and anchors-- some canvas and carpenter work.

"The Gun Vessels and almost every Vessel on shore lay in the street.

"No. 6 lost rudder and channels.

"Nos 160 and 165 the ironwork of their rudder.

"The Saucy Jack, Privateer of Charleston, Laying Ready to sail is now laying high and dry on a marsh that must be at least five feet above the line of Low Tide.  She draws 14 feet, seven feet being the Common Rise.

"The town has suffered much.   Seven inhabited houses blown down but no lives lost.

"Fernadina has 20 houses blown down and every vessel in port drove on shore except a Swedish brig.  Considerable amount of mercantile property destroyed."

It Was Sure a Bad One.  --Brock-Perry

North Carolina-Built Jeffrsonian Gunboats

From the NC1812 site.

Three were built in North Carolina.  Gunboat No. 166 was built in Smithville (now Southport) and later had its name changed to USS Alligator.

--Brock-Perry

Is This Gunboat No. 140?-- Part 2

A 75-page illustrated report has been made on the wreck.  A storm along the coast excavated the remains.  Specimens of wood, metal, china and ballast have been collected and sent to a lab for analysis.

What was known by 1939 was that the ship's hull bore a striking similarity to the architectural design of the 176 U.S. gunboats ordered by the government to similar design from 1805-1807, the so-called Jeffersonian Gunboats.

Scientists used drafts of Gunboat No. 5, shown in the right column.  The outline of the bow and stern along with the gudgeon, which held the rudder, are identical.

It is known that Gunboat No. 140 exploded near Ocracoke Inlet on September 23, 1814 and is believed to have burned down to the waterline.

Sounds Like They Found 140.  --Brock-Perry

Is This Gunboat No. 140?-- Part 1

From the National Park Service August 1939 Regional Review "Bodie Island Ship Remains Described in Report."

On June 4th, I wrote about North Carolina's gunboats during the War of 1812, and mentioned one whose remains were found back in the 30s on Bodie Island, along the state's Outer Banks that was uncovered on land (the barrier islands shift positions constantly) by a storm back in the late 1930s and much research done on it since.

I was unfamiliar with it, so had to do some more research.  I didn't find much but this excellent report.  I don't know if it still remains, but hope it does as we don't have that many remnants from the war.

The hull of the ship was found May 3, 1938 on Bodie Island in an area authorized for inclusion in a proposed Cape Hatteras National Seashore park.  At first, it was thought that the ship was from the 17th or even the 16th century, which would have really made it a find (as very few Age of Exploration ships remain).  But now, it has tentatively been identified as an American vessel built sometime after 1750.

What Ship is That?  --Brock-Perry

Joseph Tarbell, USN

Earlier this week I was writing about the USS Alligator, Gunboat #166, and found out that its first commander was Joseph Tarbell.  I'd never heard of him, so Wiki here I come.

(1780-1815)  Served in the First Barbary War and War of 1812.  Born in Norfolk, Virginia.  Became a midshipman in 1798.  From 1800-1804, served on the USS Constitution and other ships in the Mediterranean Squadron.  He was with Commodore Edward Preble's command at Tripoli in 1804.

During the War of 1812, he commanded a boat expedition June 19-23, 1813, against the British at Craney Island .  His fifteen ships battled them for 15 hours and forced them away, sinking 3 British boats, capturing 43 and killing 90.

Never Heard of Him Before.  --Brock-Perry

Some More on the USS Alligator

From the NC War of 1812 Bicentennial Committee, by Jim Greathouse.

The Gunboat 166 was built by Amos Perry around the town of Smithville, North Carolina, near the mouth of the Cape Fear River.  This town is now named Southport.

Perry also built gunboats #167 and #168.  I imagine they were all built from the same plans as such.

Duty aboard the Alligator was monotonous at best, essentially just sailing along the coasts.  Officers and men on it wanted to be transferred to more glamorous duty on an American frigate or other warship.  The idea of getting prize money was especially enticing.

Desertion and diseases meant that the ship was always looking for crew members.

Go Ahead, Bore Me.  --Brock-Perry

USS Alligator (Gunboat No. 166)

From Wikipedia.

Yesterday, I mentioned three of the Jeffersonian gunboats built at Wilmington, NC, that served in the War of 1812.

One was No. 166, a 60 foot-long schooner with crew of 40 and mounting four cannons.It was built in 1809 and its first commander was Joseph Tarbell.  It was built and commissioned as part of the Democratic-Republican party's defensive "Gunboat Navy."  Not only considerably cheaper to build than the oversized frigates like the USS Constitution, they required far fewer men in their crews.  Its primary duty was to protect coastal commerce.

In 1812, it received the name Alligator.

It's biggest action during the War of 1812 came on the night of January 28, 1814, when, while anchored at the mouth of Stone River, SC, they were spotted by a British frigate and brig earlier in the day.  That night, the enemy approached with seven boats with muffled oars in an attempt to capture the Alligator. 

They were spotted and gunfire exchanged.  The Alligator raised sail to make a getaway, but ran aground.  However, the British had suffered heavy casualties and broke off the engagement.  The Alligator had two killed and two wounded.

It was refloated and returned to service, but in July was sunk in a storm in Port Royal Sound with a loss of 21 of her crew.

Refloated again, it served until sold June 12, 1815.

Brock-Perry