Globalization of the United States, 1789-1861

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The Naval Temple: Containing A Complete History of the Battles Fought by the Navy of the United States. From its Establishment in 1794, to the Present Time.... Boston: Published by Barber Badger, 1816.

Flush from the excitement of the War of 1812, Badger recounted heroic narratives like the first navy foray into the Pacific in support of what he perceived to be an underfunded United States Navy.

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Captain Porter, in the frigate Essex, proceeded to sea from the Delaware, on the twenty-seventh of October, 1812, repaired, agreeably to instructions from commodore Bainbridge, to the coast of Brazil, where different places of rendezvous had been arranged between them. In the course of his cruise on this coast he captured his Britannick majesty”s packet Nocton, and after taking out of her about eleven thousand pounds sterling in specie, ordered her for America. Hearing of commodore Bainbridge’s victorious action with the Java, which would oblige him to return to port, and of the capture of the Hornet by the Montague, and learning that there was a considerable augmentation of British force on the coast, and several ships in pursuit of him, he abandoned his hazardous cruising ground, and stretched away to the southward, scouring the coast as far as Rio de la Plata. From thence he shaped his course for the Pacifick Ocean, and, after suffering greatly for want of provisions, and heavy gales off Cape Horn, arrived at Valparaiso, on the 14th of March, 1813. Having victualled his ship, he ran down the coast of Chili and Peru, and fell in with a Peruvian corsair, having on board twenty-four Americans, as prisoners, the crews of two whaling ships, which she had taken on the coast of Chili. The Peruvian captain justified his conduct on the plea of being an ally of Great Britain, and the expectation likewise of a speedy war between Spain and the United States. Finding him resolved to persist in similar aggressions, captain Porter threw all his guns and ammunition into the sea, liberated the Americans, and wrote a respectful letter to the Viceroy explaining his reasons for so doing, which he delivered to the captain. He then proceeded to Lima, and luckily recaptured one of the American vessels as she was entering the port.

After this he cruised for several months in the Pacifick, inflicting immense injury on the British commerce in those waters. He was particularly destructive to the shipping employed in the spermaceti whale fishery. A great number with valuable cargoes were captured; two were given up to the prisoners; three sent to Valparaiso and laid up; three sent to America; one of them he retained as a storeship, and another be equipped with twenty guns, called the Essex junior, and gave the command of her to lieutenant Downes. Most of these ships mounted several guns, and had numerous crews; and as several of them were captured by boats or by prizes, the officers and men of the Essex had frequent opportunities of showing their skill and courage, and of acquiring experience and confidence in naval conflict.

Having now a little squadron under his command, captain Porter became a complete terror in those seas. As his numerous prizes supplied him abundantly with provisions, clothing, medicine, and naval stores of every description, he was enabled for a long time to keep the sea, without sickness or inconvenience to his crew; living entirely on the enemy, and being enabled to make considerable advances of pay to his officers and crew without drawing on government. The unexampled devastation achieved by his daring enterprises, not only spread alarm throughout the ports of the Pacifick, but even occasioned great uneasiness in Great Britain.

Numerous ships were sent out to the Pacifick in pursuit of him; others were ordered to cruise in the China seas, off New Zealand, Timor and New Holland, and a frigate sent to the river La Plata. The manner in which captain Porter cruised, however, completely baffled pursuit. Keeping in the open seas, or lurking among the numerous barren and desolate islands that form the Gallipagos groups, and never touching on the American coast, he left no traces by which he could be followed; rumour, while it magnified his exploits, threw his pursuers at fault; they were distracted by vague accounts of captures made at different places, and of frigates supposed to be the Essex hovering at the same time off different coasts and haunting different islands.

In the mean while captain Porter, though wrapped in mystery and uncertainty himself, yet received frequent and accurate accounts of his enemies, from the various prizes which he had taken. Lieutenant Downes, also, who had convoyed the prizes to Valparaiso, on his return, brought advices of the expected arrival of commodore Hillyar in the Phoebe frigate rating thirty-six guns accompanied by two sloops of war. Glutted with spoil and havock, and sated with the easy and inglorious captures of merchantmen, captain Porter now felt eager for an opportunity to meet the enemy on equal terms, and to signalize his cruise by some brilliant achievement. Having been nearly a year at sea, he found that his ship would require some repairs, to enable her to face the foe; he repaired, therefore, accompanied by several of his prizes, to the Island of Nooaheevah, one of the Washington group, discovered by a captain Ingraham of Boston. Here he landed, took formal possession of the island in the name of the government of the United States, and gave it the name of Madison’s Island. He found it large, populous and fertile, abounding with the necessaries of life; the natives in the vicinity of the harbour which he had chosen received him in the most friendly manner, and supplied him with abundance of provisions. During his stay at this place he had several encounters with some hostile tribes on the island, whom he succeeded in reducing to subjection. Having calked and completely overhaled [sic] the ship, made for her a new set of water casks, and taken on board from the prizes provisions and stores for upwards of four months, he sailed for the coast of Chili on the 12th December, 1813. Previous to sailing he secured the three prizes which had accompanied him, under the guns of a battery erected for their protection, and left them in charge of lieutenant Gamble of the marines and twenty-one men, with orders to proceed to Valparaiso after a certain period.