The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, October 17, 1897, Page 24

i [ THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, SUNDAY, OCTOBER 17, An Eye-Witness Describes the Most Dramatic Epi- sode of the (reat Battle of Sedan. ed in last Sunday’s CALu | hissquadronsforanother attempt General }teon, who had currendered only his ow «ll that We exy bow Marshal Ba and was left of his 000 men, “ could hear 1t: “Do make another trial, had been compeiled to seek shelter in | my dear general, for the sake cf the | Metz, where they were besieged by parts | honor o our arms, even if everything else of the First under Prince Frederick Charles of Prus. The ts of the two armies, Fourth Prussian and my C the vision other 1 rps, the Crown Prince of aiions against Mac- mv comprised the nth Prussian and an army corps and the divsion; so that the two es had together about 240,000 Boih armies received orders \ Chalons out by diferent nity with V Moltke’ margh separately and to Crown P combatants. ved consid- rcements at Chalons and 4 of the First Army Corms the Fifth (De Fa the Seventh (Felix the Sixth (Trochu, all about 145,000 to 150,000 acMahon had also received t battalion ed and ab: i these ck Emyperor re q join MacMabon sided at the coun- cred little with Mae- ions, As soon as the was authentically informed that Bazaine was prevented from leav- tended to retreat with all order to gather a walls of the cap- ), the French Min- ovyosed to this and march to the relief of ct rcad to Metz had rd German Army, MacMahon was obliged , he his forces 10 P larger army v ital, but Coant Pa ister of War, ordered flict with the Fourth Ger- man Arm led to several engagements, all of which resulted unfavorably for the own Prince had mean- of MacMahon’s had started in pur- been infc d 0. French were de- feated with great loss and retreated, partly I and Second German armies | later | Mobile Guards, | | wounded. other route, and in this way | ier the Crown Prince of | arrived at Beaumont in time to | Saxon Crown Prince in the bat- | Ducrot rode up and shouted to bim so alt is lost!” ‘*As often as you command and as long as I tavea man lef, reneral," was | Galliffet's gallant reply, and unsheath- ing his sword e led the rest of his squad- rons once more against the enemy. “Oh, the poor feilows!” regretfully re- marked King Wiiliam, who observed ihiese reroic but p ctly useless cavalry charges from his po:it on at the Bois de la Marfee, and the American gen-ral(Steri dan who was in the King's suite, ex- ciaimed: *'I never witnessed a desperate, so absolutely nonsensical. isdownright murder!” Three different changes were made, last- ing in all about forty minutes. Only at points where the infantry stood very thin did the hcrsemen succeed in breaking through the Prussian lines, to be met by the fire of the infantry furiher back, and the tew who escaped were made prisoners Dy tu hussars. As far as the round was covered with dead and woun iders and horses, and a large number of Cuirassiers fo a grave in a quarry, over the precipice ot which tuey had been driv The squad- rons pariicipating 1n the charges lost half their number in kilied and wounded. Of their generals Margueritte, Girard ana Tilliard were killed and De Salignac Fene- lon was wounded. The Prussian infantry 11 losses in killed and rench army has always thing so It wounded Besides the cav: the Frerch army distingunished seives by great bravery on that day, there were others who made but a very poor showing. The troops had saffered considerably during their long marches, ng which they had been very inade- quately provided with victuals, They were driven from all sides on Sedan, which toward evening was completely sur- ry many other parts of them- rounded by the Germans, whose artilie occupied every surrounding height. noon of the 1st of Sepiember Sedan and immediate vicinity werein a terrible chaos. Wimpffen, therefore, collected all the troops he could and made an attempt to At cut his way tbrough the German lines, but was promptly thrown ba on Sedan with great loss. Immediately afterward the German artillery commenced tv bom- bard Sedan from all sidesso effectively that the French were compelled to hoist the white flag. Thereupon the bombard- ment was at once stopped and King W tiam sent Colonel Bronsart vo hellen- dorf to the commander of the French forces, offering a truce until 4 o’clock tke | person to the King of Prussia, was con- ducted, with a smal! part of hissuite, to the castle of Withelmshobe, near Cassel, where he remained a prisoner of war till peace was concluded in 1871 From a military poin: of view ths wa shou!d now have beenended, as the entire regular army of France, excepiing a few unimportant commands, was either taken prisoner or besieged in fortresses. It France had now sued for peace she would have obtained much more favorable terms than she did in the end; would have saved more than 150,000 of her men in killed and wounded, and would have prevented the destruction of much property and untold misery 10 ber populace. But as soon as the news of the capitula- | tion of MacMahon’s army and the impris- | onment of the Emperor reached Paris | the imperial Government was at once overthrown and the republic aeclared. Unfortunately for France the leaders now at the heim of the Government could not and would not inaugurate the new regime with the corelusion of a disgracefal peace. Furthermore, tbe people of France, par- ticularly of Paris, were £o iniatuaied by their former military elory thet they thought they had only to. create .new armies, and that these would be able to cope successiuliy with the well tried and carefuliy disciplined German veterans. Frenchman able to .bear arms isted in the new army of the republic, and.ali the small detechments of the regular army which were stul 1n the field were ordered to concentrate in Paris. Two days before tue capitu'ation of Sedan General Trochbu had been called to Paris in order to end the formation of & pew army a look after the iortifica= tions of the capital. General Vinoy's army corps, which was sent to re-enforce MacMahon's army, bad not quite arrived at Sedan on the 21 of September, and was, therefore, not included in the capitulation and marched now direct on Paris. This city was surrounded by three strong lines of fortifications, drawn in a wide cir- cle around tte town, and every hill and commandinz height on all sides of the capital were crowned by a fort, several of which were of great strength, so that Paris was then, as it is now, by far the strongest of all the larze fortresses of the world, ] national guards of all surrounding towns were ordered to report at Paris at once, short time General 400,000 armed men his command, of whizh, however, small portion was d 4 and deserving the name of soldier Everything was done to give the new men a zood training, and Trochu ana his lieutenants as well as the members of the KING WILLIAM Riding Over the Battlefield of Sedan on the in great disorder, on Sedan, a small and {next morning and demanding an un- unimportant fortress. Here tLey were again attacked by the German forces on September 1, and defeated so completely that they had to capitulate the next day. Ofthe many interesting episodes of this great batile we shall here descrive the famous attacks of the French cavalry on the German forces at Floing. General Ducrot of the First Corps, while | conducting the operations of the First and Sevenih corps on the line of Iily, per-| ceived that the retreat of the French army had been cutcff vn all sides, except in the direction of the Fortress Sedan. He thereupon resoried to the last means which offered a possibility of drawing the already half-defeated army out of the net, by ordering General Margueritie to break through the German lines with his four reserve cavairy divisions, These divisions consisted of three regi- ments Chasseurs d’Afrique, ¢ne hussar Ducrot added tne lanciers Brigade Lava- resse of the Twelfth Corps .and several +quadrons of Cuiras:iers of Bourgemain’s division. General Margueritte, before at- tacking the enemy, rode a liitle distance ahead of his troops to take s look at the enemy’s positions, and while doing so was Before | mortally wounded by a rifla -ball eXpiring he sent orders to General de Galiiffet to 1ake charge of the command. General Galiiffet at once put himeelf at the head of the cavaliry forces and charged in full gallop against the Prussian inian- try, which had just then .reached the he guts of Floing. In their rush -against the infantry the Frencn squadrons were somewhat disordered by a strong flank fire of the Prusgsian artiilery and by the unevenness of ihe soil, but continued their ride with mach bravery. The Prussians had meanwhile sheltered themseives perty behind hedgzes and in ditches sna poured a hail of balls against 4be advaucing squadrons, causing them to retreat in disorder., Woile General Gal- liffet was still exerting, bimsell to rally conditional surrenaer. Before the ex- piration of the truce Bronsart was conducted to Emperor Napoleon, whose presence at Sedan was not known to | the Germans, and was referred 1o General Wimpffen as the comma:nder-in-chief. Wimpffen agreed to meet. Von Moitke later in the evening, and Bronsart re- turned to King William in company with General Reille, who was 10 deliver a letter from Napoleon to the King, which con- tained the historical words: My Eeteemed Brother: As T have mot been permitted to die in the midst of my troops, nothing remains for me but to deposit my | sword in the hands of your Majesty: I remain your Majesty’s well-wishivg brotber, Sedan, Sept. ¥, 1870. NATOLEON. It may be remarked here that Nepoleon, | after seeing that the battle was irretriev- | ably lost, really s ught death by repeat- | | edly remaining at localities which were | and one chasseur regiment, to whicn | exposad to a severe grenade fire. o At 10 o'clock in the evening General Wimpffen, accompanied by the chief of his staff, General Faure, and General Castel- nau, met Von Moitke and General Vou Blumentnal at Bismarck’s temporary residence at Donchery. The capitulation was signed and with one stroke 83,000 unwounded French sol- diers became prisoners of war. As long as the world existed no such a number of soldiers bad ever capitulated; but a few weeks later, when Bazaine surrendered, over twice that number fell into the hands of the victors. The battle -of Sedan cost the Germans about 460 officers and 8500 men in kilied and wounded. The French losses were: Killed in battle, 3000; wounaed in battie, 14,000; taken prisoners during the battle, 21,000; prisoners in consequence of the capitulation, 83,000; disarmed in Bel- gium, 3000; total, 124,000, Besides: Oac eagle and two standards, 419 field guns and mitraillevses, 139 siege guns, 1072 car- riages of all kinds, 66,000 muskets and 6000 serviceable horses. Lmperor Evening of September o 1870. [ national defense were indefatigable to pre- ! pare for a proper defense of the city and | country. | Meanwhile the Germans bad not been idle. The French prisoners of war were | at once transported to Germany and the | combinel armies under command of the Crown Prince of Prussia were on the march to Paris, and that city was soon to be environed by forces so large as had never beiore besieged a single town. The strong fortress of Strassburg was invaded by Baden and Prussian troops ander General von Werder. Heavy siege {euns vaa arrived from Germany, and Strassburg well a3 over a dozen other J foriresses were under bombardment, and | their capituiation was only a question of | a few weeks. Marshal Bazaine had made several un- successful attempts to cut his way through the Prussian lines before Metz. He was handicapped by a great insufficiency of horses, by the demoralization of part of | his forces and by many other matters over | which he had no control. His 1ast sortie was made with 120,000 men in the direction of Noisseviile in the evening of August 31, and the French sue- ceeded in breaking through the Prussian ilnes in two places, but were driven back to Metz during the night and morning of September 1. That in this battle 40,000 Prussians defeated three times their num- ber of Frenchmen serves as a good illus- tration of the loose discipline at that time revailing in Bazaine's army and ‘of the small self-confidence of his officers and men. In next Sunday’s CaLL our narrative of | the most memorable events of the great war will be continued. WitLiax Lopraaxs. —_——— Nearly all lions are “left-handed.” Liv- inestone closely watch«d the lions he saw in Africa, and noted that when one de- sired to strike a forcible Llow the animal always used the left paw, vessels to be b sides” was one. ing, vy H | | | end of time. Exactly 100 years ago the story of the Constitution had its birth. Every one tury the intolerance of Great Britain was | reaching a point where it could be put up | with no longer, and Congress ordered six | of which “0Old lron- | Not long after herlannch- | in the end of September, 1797, the ! glish attempted to hola the Constitu- | tion up to the derision of Europe by de- nouncing her as ‘‘a bunch of pine boards saiiing under a bit of striped bunting.” The manner in which these taunts were | flung back by the Americans a few years later will continue to call forth the admi- ration of seamen and fighters alike to the The Constitution has a record which has never been beaten, and the present petition to Congress to restore herand preserve her as a memento o! brave days long past will meet the approval of all true Americans. During the hottest two years and nine months of the war “Old Ironsides,” as | she was affectionately cabled in the navy, was in three actions, was twice criticsily chased, and captured five vessels of war, tiree of which were frigates. In all these adventures she never wes dismasted, never ¢ot ashore, although twice she nar- rowly escaped being wrecked on the south- west coast of England, and searcely ever suffered any of the usual accidents of the sea. Though in the midst of shot and sheil so often, no very serious slaughter [ ever took place upon her decks. Four of her lientenants were killed, one com- mander was wounded, and the<e appear to have been her most sericus catastrophes. Real active service of the Constitution commenced when Captain Isaac Hull was ordered to take her to Europe to carry the interest due on the debt to Holland. On her return trip she proceeded to Ports- mouth and while there had some trouble with a British man-of-war (Havana) over the giving up of a deserter. Two British frigates bore down on the Constitation in an objectionable manner and the lieuten- ant in charge calmly weighed anchor on the American frigate and cleverly out- maneuvered the British vessels. When the Constitution went to sea the British- | ers followed, and although they made | every indication of wanting a battle, when | they saw that Captamn Hull was quite ready to give it tothem, they calmly stood off on a different course and the American crew, which had been piped ready for ac- tion, was sorely disappointed when the | drum beat 2 retreat as the British Irigates ran off before tne wind. Soon afier returning to this country war broke outand the Constitution was cruising off the coast with instructions not to voluntarily encounter a force su- perior to her own. While pursuing an apparently uneventful voyage the Consti- tution met the British frigate Guerriere. These two vessels were in company for several days, the Guerriere trying to get within gunshot of the Constitution. Ac- companying the Guerriere was the Belvi- dere, another British vessel, which was also anxious to blow the Constitution to pieces, The American was graaually be- ing overhauled by the English frigate, and slowly but surely the Belvidere was draw- | ing up to her prey. Captain Hull at this juncture succeeded by kedging in keeping ahead of the Br.tisher in the shallow water. There was butlittle wind and stun- sails were set frow the water to the royal masthead, and in order to make the saiis boid what little wind there was buckets of water were run up to the royal and top- ga'lant yard- and poured over the canvas. When the Beitisher saw tow cleverly the Constitution was gradually lesving bhim astern he followed tbe same devices and was enabled to improve bis position. At this junciure the enemy opened fire and some of his shot actually passed over tbe Constituiion. A littie breeze help d the American, and as she forged away the Guerriere fired a harmless broadside, and when the wind fell light Captain Huil lightened his ship by pumping eut 2500 gallons of water. Toward afternoon the Belvidere opened fire on the Constitution, but as the Ameri- can frizgate was efabled to increase thadis- tance between them the firing soon ceased. Near midnighta light breezs sprang up and instantly the Comstitution- was irimmed to tase advantage of every pos- sible breaih, and at midnighta calm fol- lowed and towing witn boats and kedging were resumed until daylight. On the third day of the chase a fresh breeze sprang up and while the Britishers were shortening saii Captain Hull spread every stitch on the ConsMiution snd had his ship bowling along at eleven'knots in- stead of having her on her beam ends as the enemy had hoped. This celebrated chase lasted sixty-seven hours and the | CAPTURE OF THE BRITISH ERIGATE JAVA'. | both sides prepared to board. At 1897, and indomitable perseverance and skiil of her commander and officers. The celebrated fight and capture of the Guerriere is the next stattling eventin the log of the Constitution. Captain Hull sailed from Boston on August 2, 1812, few days after leaving, orders arrived for him to remain in port until further or- ders, and “had the Constitution bsen cap- tured on this cruise,” remarked Kear-Ad- miral Bell, “Hull would have been hanged | or shot for sailing without orders.” When out sixteen days the Constitution sighted a British frigate, whicn her crew, who well remembered the renowned chase, easily recognized as the Guerriere. The two vessels at once prepared for battle. Captain Huli showed remarkable patience at the commencement of the action by wziting until severai shots from the enemy had struck his vessel before he would permita | gun to be fired. He coolly paced the quarter-deck, and even after two of his men first lieutenant and said: “Not yet, The crew was impatient, and three | times the lieutenant asked if he couid oven fire, and three times he received a calm, *Not yet, sir.”” At last, having gained the position for which he had been striving, Capt. Hull gave the order to fire. Instantly a frightful storm of iron hail carried death and destruction into the enemy’s ship. The effect of this short. range broadside was terrific, and it fairly staggered the Eonglishman. Firing was kept up on both sides, and a careiul shot from the Americaa brought down the enemy’s mainyard. At thesame moment another shot cut the Engiishman’'s miz zen-mast a few fect above the aeck. Down it came, and as its effect on the steering was to expose the Britisher's beam, the Americans gotin two raking broadsides. The frigates came so close together that stage the sharpshooters aloft picked off several officers on both sides, and the | hand-to-hand battle was brave and deadly. The rolling of tne vessels prevented board- ing, and as the Britisher could not fire a single broadside gun, owing to his disa- bility, the Constitution could do as she pleased, until the Guerriere, paying off a | little, was enabied to return some of the shot. So close were they that some of the burning wads from: the British guns were blown into the Constitution’s after-cabin, |and for a moment Old l:onsides was The two ships | threatened with fire. came together again. The enemy’s bow- sprit struck tbe taffrail of the Constitu- tion, but so slackened the forestays of the | Guerriere that the foremast went over the starboard sde and the sudden wrench that the mainstays gave the mainmast carried it overboard also, leaving the enemy totally dizmasted. She fell into the trough of the sea a perfect wreck, and forty minutes after the first shot was fired the American victory was compiete. Captain Dacres of the Guerriere was greatly humiliated at being captured by the American frizate that he had so fre- quently ridiculed. The lesson that bravery and skill are more effective weapoas than ridicule was a very bitter one for the Ehglish commander to learn. The next engagement of the Constitu- tion was the capture and destruction ot the British frigate Java, which surren- dered to the stars and stripes off the coast of San Salvador on the 29.h of D:c2mber, 1812. When about ten leagues off shore on that memorabie day, Commodore Bain- bridze, who then commauded Old Iron- sices, sighted a vessel nding in shore to windward. [t was an id:=al day for a test of seamansbip, for the ,wind was steady from the eastward and there was but little sea. It was such a day on which every extra sail that could be spread could be fely hung aloit, and the race would be to the fastest. About noon Bamnbridge was satisfied that his windward stranger was a Britsh frigate. He at once ran up his colors and the stranger responded with the British ensign. It was a direct invitation to an atiack and Bainbridge quickly grasped it. He 100k in bis mainsail und royals end tacked direcily toward the frigate. The Englishman also came to the wind and way they went on the port tack close hauled. The Constitution gradualiy forged ahead, and thouch the Britisher kept a jack flying he hauled down the en- sign. Bainbridge opened the proceedings by hring a shet ahead of his enemy to induce him to show his colors anew. This brought on a general fire, and early in the afterncon both vessels were sending forth a furious cannonaie. The enemy sailed best ia thé Jight wind and tried hard to Al had been xilled he motioned to the | this | sand a litile later down came the second y Constitution owed ber escape from the cross the Constitution’s bow; but the lat- | | two frigates to the excellent seamanship | ter, wearing at an opportune moment, got knows that at the close of the last cen-| his head to the westward as soon as the | | frigate. Alter this maneuver the vessels | were within pistol shot, and then fol- | lowed some very clever seamanship. | | Whenever the Englishman tried to get| into position to fire a broaaside at | the Constitution the Americin ship did | the same, and this was kept up for nearly | an hour, with an occasional sho: from | either vessel. The Englishman being to windward at- | | tempted to ram the Constitution on the quarter. She ran her -jibboom into the Constitution’s mizzen rigging, by which | | operation she suff red most, for the guns | | of the Constitution were so trained that | | they shot off the head of the British bow- sprit, and this parting the forestay | caused the foremast to topple overboard | The Constitation shot abead, taking eare:| 10 avoid being raked, and in separating | the stump ot the British bowsprit tore away the American’s taffrail, Some excellent seamanship followed, butthe Eaglishman having lost his fore- mast was at the mercy of the Constitu-| tion, which luffed up under his quarte and engaged for a short time in a hand-to- | hand fight witty the yardarms locked. A few minutes Jater the enemy lost his miz- zeanmast and bad nothing standing but his mainmast, with the yard shot away in the siings, His fire ceased, the Consti- | tution boarded her tacks and Iuffed across { | the Britisher’s bow, passing to windward of her antagonist just two hours after the battle had commenced. Commodore Bain- | bridge noticed that the British ensign was down, and as the enemy’s fire was silent | the Coanstitution hauied a little to wind- ward to repair ber slight damages and to | make certain that nothing serious had | happened. | Inaboutan bour the British ran up an { ensign, and at this invitation the Ameri- cans returned to the attack, but when tie | enemy saw. that the. Constitution was pre- paring to fire the ensign was rapidiy hauled down and a lieatenant went aboard | to take possession' of the prize. She | proved to be the British frigate Java, | Captain Lambert, bound for the East Indies with several important officers on board. An investigation of the prize showed that she had been literally picked to pieces with shot. Sixty of her men | were killed and one hundred wounded. Her captain wes mortally injured anda | several inferior officers were killed. After | removing the wounded to the Cons:itution it was considered expedient to destroy the | Java and she was blown up at sea. | And in all this bitter engagement the | Constitution did not lose a spar. Nine of her men were killed and twenty-five wounded, which was about one-quarter of the loss of the British crew. The Constitution’s next commander was Captain Charies Stewart, and he it was Wwho, on the 20th of February, 1815, suc- ceeded in varquishing and capturing the British ships Cyane and Levant. | This battle was clearlv won by magnifi- | cent seamanship. The Constitution sighted the enemy in the afternoon, ana at 5:30 o’clock, when darkness was coming down, decks cleared for action. A few minutes later the two vessels of theenemy bailed each otber, hauled up in the wind with their heads northward and prepared to engage. They next tried to weather | the American frigate, but failing in that they hauled up their courses, and with the three vesseis forming an equilateral | triangle, the Consttution to windward, the action commenced. Unceasing fire was kept up for a quarter of an hour, and when the smoke cleared away Capiain Stewart saw one of the ve-- sels under his lee beam, while the other was trying to get to windward of him. Pouring a broadside into the ship abreast of her the Constitution instantly tarew everything aback, let fly the jib sheets and backed swiftly astérn, and by this maneu- ver forced the eneray to wear ship under a raking broadside and torun off to leeward. From thence onward the battle was fought by moounlight. The Constitution came around oo her keel and, crossing the stern of the lareer ship, raked her with good effect, and as the Constitution ranged up on his weather quarter down came the Britich ensign, and the second lieutenant, Who was sent to take possession, found the prize to be the British ship Cyane, Cap- tain Falcon. While this litile incident was takine | place the o:her ship had run to leeward, | and bad been forced out of the combat by | the crippled conditicn of her rigging. | Being dark she did not know that the Cyane bad struck, and at 9 o’clock again bore down on the Constitution. The American received her with heavy firing, | harbor a Brit 1 &ick, who now | keavy yards lowered down | eid ship as she planged her nose into ¢ British ensign, and the third | who took possession, found tha! 128 was the Levant, under command of Hon. Captain Douglas. The two zes safely taken into Port Praya on the 10:h of March. A few days later while at anchor in the t hove in sight although the port was a neutral one, Cap- tain Stewart was tao well acc nted with British ethics to trust to their observanca of the rules of war ana decided to attempt to escape. He succeeded in getting aw. with the Constitution and the Cyane, bat the Levant being delayed was recaptared before she could get outside. The Cyane afterward did good service in our navy. To commemor ce American valor and British pe vessel was built on the same lines he Levant, tened with that name and for years carried the stars and stripes. rs later Old Irons rage around the wo of her midshipmen was W were fend Bank of before leavin tirely reconstructed at vard during the administration of Presi- dent Jackson, and sailed under the com- mand of Captain Joun Percival, whose ec- centricities earned him the sobriquet of “Mad Jack.’’ She mads the voyage arouna the worla in 1844.46, arriving at Mazatian, Mexico, in April, 1846. By a strange coincidenca she here t the CUnitea Btates squadron, unier Commo- dore Sloat, and among the vessels were the Cvane and Levant. This was just previous to the breaking out of the Mexican War. The Consutution, being on'a special voyage, sailed from Mazatlan April 22,1846, and arrived at Valparaiso in the eariy part of June. While in Valparaiso harbor ©ld lron- sides proved that she was as well able to win out in a contest with natnre as to ef- fect tbe capture of a hardful of British frigates. While in the harbor one of those wild storms so well known to mariners on the Chilean coast as “‘northers’” broke over the roadstead. All the light spars were aloft and the vessel was fully rizged, but in less than an hour everything was sent down, jibboom and topmasis housed and to the ham- mock nettings. Four heavy anchors were run outahead, and the tempest was defied. According to Mr. Herrick, the seas were fearful, apd the aspect of the good great green seas was majestic and sul lime. Her hatches were ail calked down and baitened, hec booms tarpaulined and secured by heavy lashings, s she plunged into the seas tons of green brine poured along her deck as fast as the ports on either side and at the stern could let it out. All hands were below excent a few of the watch on deck, and Old Ironsides roce out the “temporal’’ in perfect security. Five barks and brigs went ashore in the, gale on the EI Mandoral, but the Consti- tution did not perceptibly drag an anchor. A paintiag of the ship under these condi- tions was made by Mr. Herrick, from which the accompanying illustration was drawn. The ola ship was off Cape Horn July 4, 1846, ana arrived at Rio de Janeiro two weeks later. Here she remained several weeks under orders irom Hoa. Henry A, Wise, United States Miuister to Brazil, who detained her as a convoy for about twenty American coffee droghers, who hurried their cargoes on board to have the security of the old frizate from possible Mexican privateers on the MexXicau coast, She saw them safely to the cipesof Vir- ginia, and then hauled off into the gulf stream once more and arrived at Boston, where she tied up to the dock at Charles- ton Navy-yard October 4 1846 close to which she wa: launched nearly fifty years before. Soon after the War of the Rebellion broke out the Constitution came near fali- ing into the hands of the Confederates while lying at Annapolis, where she had been used as & schoalshiv, The dap- ger was averied by the prompt uczior;s of General Builer and the old craft wa taken to New York. For years sie hgd been laid up in ordinary at Portsmouth, but a few weeks since she was towed down to Bostor, the place of ber birth, where on the 2Ist insi. the centennial of her taunching is to be appropriately cel‘ brated. The brave craft should nat be permitted to rot at her moorings, but should be pre- served and remain, as she wiil, as dear to the hearts of Americans as is the hull of the Victory to the nation that was vic- torious at Trafalgar, Stuast W. Boora.