Pacific, Around the World and Africa   (1840 - 1859)

Army & Navy Chronicle (1835-1844)(Cont.)

Volume XI (Cont.)

Number 11 (September 10, 1840)

"Pacific Squadron.-- Frigate Constitution, Capt. Turner, Commo. A. Claxton, at Callao, April 12; officer and crew all well."                                (Page 175.)

Number 13 (September 24, 1840)

                                                                    "DEATHS.

"In Charlestown, Mass., on the 8^th inst., after a lingering illness, Samuel Cooper Hixon, Master in the U. S. Navy, aged 56 years."         (Page208.)

Number 15 (October 8, 1840)

"Pacific Squadron.-- Frigate Constitution, Capt. D. Turner, flag ship of Commo. Claxton, and schr. Shark, Lieut. Com'dt Bigelow, at Valparaiso, July 16."                                                                (Page 239.)

Number 20 (November 12, 1840)

     "Doubling Cape Horn.--  The following graphic account of the doubling of Cape Horn we copy from a letter from an officer of the United States ship Constitution, dated the 9^th of January last.

     ' While doubling Cape Horn, we experienced a tremendous gale.  For twenty-two days it blew with awful violence, and snowed, and rained, and hailed, almost incessantly.  Occasionally there would be a cessation of the gale, and the sun would shine out clear and beautiful; but this was only the precursor of more gales, blacker clouds, and if possible more tremendous seas.  One can hardly form an idea of the power and sublimity of a storm at sea, who has not experienced one.  You must hear the howling of the wind -- the incessant roar of the ocean, and behold the mountain waves, appearing as if they would swallow the ship -- at one moment lifted upon the monstrous waves, and then pitched headlong into the trough of the ocean -- the waves breaking over the decks, the masts cracking, the vessel groaning, and hear the hoarse trumpet as the orders are given -- in order to realize it.  Nearly all the time, during the height of the storm, we lay under storm stay-sails.  All the higher masts were sent on deck with the yards and sails, leaving the ship with only her main and top masts, in order that as little surface as possible might be exposed to the wind.  The most wearying thing during a storm, is the pitching and rolling of the ship, which you must be constantly guarded against, or you may be killed at any moment.  A number of the midshipmen were injured by being precipitated down the cock-pit hatch.  One night a large mahogany table came tumbling down, and deposited itself, legs up, alongside my cot.  Camp stools and chairs went dancing about, as if possessed of life.

     'But the most amusing occurrence during a gale, is the eating, or rather the manner in which it is performed.  The table being lashed, and the plates and dishes placed upon it, we sit down to dine.  Now on shore it is a perfectly easy thing to eat your dinner, and if hungry, quite agreeable.  But suppose some one should get under your table, and suddenly raise one side up so high as to form an angle of nearly forty-five degrees with the walls of the room, and another standing behind, jerk your chair from under you, sending you sliding away on hands and feet to leeward, while your neighbor, who may, by holding on to the table, maintain his seat, gets the contents of the soup tureen in his lap; and then after picking up the fragments of the broken dishes, and reseating yourself at the table, you have time  to eat a moment, and the same operation is repeated.  You would not, I am sure, think this a very agreeable way of dining.  Some of my messmates secured themselves at table, by holding on to life lines, which are cords secured to the beams overhead, which was the only way of maintaining a fixed position.  When the caterer, who presides at the table, finds a sea coming, which can be known by the motion of the ship, he sings out "hold on to the potatoes," "take care of that soup," "look out for the dishes," or whatever may be on the table, and each one secures what he can; but notwithstanding all our precaution, we lost most of our crockery.  The ship was much strained, in consequence of her rolling in the trough of the sea, and her mast loosened, but we did not sustain any serious damage.' --N. Y. Com. Advertiser."                      (Pages 308-9.)

Number 25 (December 17, 1840)

                                                        "MARRIAGES.

           "In Mobile, Ala., on the 8^th ultimo, P. Mid. John Newland Maffitt, U. S. navy, to Miss M. Florence Murrell."                              (Page 384.)

Volume XII

Number 35 (September 2, 1841)

                                                             "MARRIAGES.

"In Brooklyn, N. Y., on the 10^th July, Lieut. Samuel W. Hazard, of the U. S. navy, to Miss Martha, daughter of the late Charles D'Wolfe, Esq., of Newport, R. I."                                                                      (Page 280.)

Number 44 (November 4, 1841)

                                          "Correspondence of the Army and Navy Chronicle.

"The U. S. frigate Constitution arrived in Hampton Roads on Sunday last, 31^st October, ult., 110 days from the coast of Peru, via Rio Janeiro, Brazil, 45 days from the latter place.  She sailed from Callao on the 11^th July last.  Left the U. S. ship Dale, schooner Shark, and ship Relief, all well.

"The following changes of officers took place on the Constitution leaving the station: Lieut. James Brown of Constitution, exchanging with Lieut. W. W. Bleecker, of the Dale; Lieut. Bleecker, exchanging with Lieut. W. A. Wurts, of the Shark, Lieut. Wurts joining the Constitution.  Passed Mid. M. Hunt, of the Shark, exchanged with Midshipman George H. Cooper, of the Constitution.  Midshipman J. S. Maury, ordered from the Shark to the Constitution.  Midshipman W. W. Polk, ordered from the Relief to the Constitution….

"The following is a list of the officers on board the Constitution.  Those marked * (a star,) joined the Constitution at Rio Janeiro from the U. S. frigate Potomac.  Com. Charles G. Ridgely, and his Secretary, G. P. Stevenson, Esq., came passengers from rio Janeiro in the Constitution.

"Captain, Daniel Turner, Esq., Commander, Edw. W. Carpender, Lieutenants, Thompson D. Shaw, 1st, William Smith, 2d, Peter Turner, 3d, William A.Wurts, 4^th, Alexander Gibson, 5^th, G. M. McCreery, 6^th.   Surgeon, Thomas Dillard.  Purser, McKean Buchanan.   Lieut. of Marines, Jabez C. Rich.  Acting Master, L. Sartori.  Acting Chaplain, J. F. Girard.  Passed Midshipmen, M. Hunt, F. S. Haggerty.  Assistant Surgeons, Charles Maxwell, Saml. Jackson.  Midshipmen, W. C. B. S. Porter, *C. Smith, Catesby ApRoger Jones, S. Bent, T. L. Kinlock, J. P. McFarland, W. W. Roberts, J. S. Maury, C. Hays, A. K. Hughes, H. T. Arnold, *W. E. Hopkins, J. S. Day, R. T. Renshaw, W. W. Polk, *E. Simpson, *F. P. Wheelock, J. F. Sperry.  Acting Master's Mate, E. F. Olmstead.  Captain's Clerk, Geo. Walker.  Boatswain, R. H. O'Neal.  Gunner, Gustavus Newman.  Carpenter, J. Cahill.  Sail Maker, Nathl. B. Peel.  Purser's Assistant, W. W. Cardwell.

                                         ------------------

"The U. S. frigate Constitution fell in with on Saturday, Oct., 23, in latitude 32 degrees 13 minutes, north, longitude 65 degrees 4 min. wst of Greenwich, the American barque 'Sarah,' of Boston, bound to New York, 48 days out from Rio Janeiro, with loss of some spars and sails.  The Constitution supplied her with some canvass [sic], &c. to repair her sails, and some provisions -- beef and bread.  The Constitution experienced the same terrific night with the Sarah, (the 21^st October,) when she had blown to pieces a reefed topsail.  The Constitution has been on the coast for several days in westerly gales, and calms, and light winds."

                                                                               (Pages 349-50.)

Number 46 (November 18, 1841)

                                                         "MARRIAGES.

     "In Norfolk on the 4th, inst., Lieut. Richard L. Page, of the U. S. navy, to Sarah Alexina, daughter of the late Richard Taylor, Esq., of that place."     (Page 367.)

Volume 13 [sic]

Number 1 (January 22, 1842)

                                                                "MARRIAGES.

     "In New York, the 13^th inst., Passed Midshipman John S. Neville, of the U. S. navy, to Charlotte A., daughter of Newton Hayes, Esq."                      (Page 16.)

Number 2 (January 29, 1842)

                                                                "MARRIAGES.

     "At Washington, on the 24^th, inst., Levin M. Powell, Lieutenant in the U. S. navy, to Jeannette C. Thruston (sic), daughter of the late Judge Thruston, of Washington."                                                 (Page 32.)

Number 9 (March 19, 1842)

"March 12 -- Preparatory orders have been issued to the following named officers to hold themselves in readiness for subsequent orders:

                  "…

                  "Captain E. R. Shubrick, command of frigate Constitution…"    (Page 144.)

At this point, the Army and Navy Chronicle became the Army and Navy Chronicle, and Scientific Repository, and began a new number series.

Volume I

Number 5 (February 9, 1843)

            "31 [Jan.]--Lieut. G. M. Hooe , detached from Constitution."  (Page 159.)

Number 6 (February 16, 1843)

            "11 [Feb]--Lieut. B. W. Hunter det'd from Constitution."   (Page 189.)

Number 24 (June 22, 1843)

            "Captain John Percival has been ordered to the command of the ship Franklin, as soon as the Board of Examiners adjourns."   (Page 757.)

Number 25 (June 29, 1843)

            "23 [Jun]--Capt. J. Percival, order to command of the Franklin suspended till further orders."     (Page 798.)

Volume II

Number 1 (July 6, 1843)

            "3 [Jul]--Capt J Percival, temporary command of ship Franklin."   (Page 31.)

Number 16 (October 19, 1843)

            13 [Oct.] -- Capt. J. Percival, command frigate Constitution.   (Page 511.)

Number 17 (October 26, 1843)

            "The remainder of the term of suspension of Commodore Elliott has been remitted by the President of the United States.  Commodore E. is therefore restored to service, and awaiting orders."  (Page 537.)

Number 18 (November 2, 1843)

            "The last tribute of respect has been paid to the remains of the late Commodore Alexander Claxton.  They were interred on Monday last [30 Oct], with appropriate military honors, at Green Mount Cemetery, Baltimore.  Long may it be before the last tribute be paid to his memory."   (Page 571.)

Volume III

Number 16 (April 18, 1844)

"The frigate Constitution, bound to New York, was towed down to Hampton Roads, Sunday afternoon.  The following is a list of her officers:

                 Captain John Percival.

     Lieutenants, Amasa Paine, Wm C. Chaplin, Jas Alden, Jr., James W. Cooke, John B. Dale, Fabius Stanly.

                 Purser, Thos M Taylor.

                 Surgeon, Daniel C. McLeod.

                 Acting Master, Gough W. Grant.

                 Lieut. Marines, Joseph W. Curtis.

                 Prof. of Mathematics, Ethan Esterbrook.

                Asst, Surgeons, Marius Duvall, Richard McSherry, Jr.

                 Passed Midshipman, R. A. Knapp.

     Midshipmen, Lucius M. Mason, W. P. Buckner, W. F. Davidson, A. F. Warley, J. E. Hopson, G. B. Douglass, Colville Terrett, Robert Patton, Cornelius Comegys, J. J. Cook.              

                 Captain's Clerk, Benjamin F. Stevens.

                 Purser's Clerk, John Collins.

                 Gunner, George Sirian.

                 Boatswain, Robert Simpson.

                 Carpenter, Henry G. Thomas.

                 Sailmaker, Isaac Whitney.

                 Yeoman, Abraham Noyes.

            NOTHING

Number 22 (May 30, 1844)

"The frigate Constitution sailed from New York for Rio Janeiro yesterday…"   (Page 703.)

The paper ceased publication with this volume.

"The Twenty-second of February, at Malta," by J. E. Dow, Esq., in United States Military Magazine, Vol. 2, p. 12

            It was morning, at Calypso's Isle, and a heavy fog hung over the yellow bastions of the strong hold of the once invincible knights of Saint John.  Etna's distant peak was occasionally seen flashing like a diamond in the clear heavens above, and the faint whisper of a coming levanter lingered upon the silent sea.  As the hour of sunrise approached, the slight tap of a drum was heard from the port, and when the orb of day, like a red shield, peeped over the eastern waves, twenty six heavy cannon spoke the feelings cherished by freemen for the memory of the Father of his country.  The fog bow slowly lifted and past off in misty volumes towards Tunis; while the Constitution hung with Flags and streamers, flashed into sight, beautiful in her battle array.  The shores of Malta were now thronged by thousands; and the Turk, the Arab, the Jew, and the Maltese, looked on in silent wonder.  "What is it for?" now rung from an hundred voices from the Forts; but no answer was returned, until the American Almanac had been ransacked by a hundred busy bodies.

            The American consul's Flag now floated gaily in the distance, and the cry, "it is the anniversary of the birth of Washington!" passed from lip to lip, and a hum of approbation ran along that mighty multitude.  "At this moment, the Admiral ran up the Flag of the West at his royal mast head and fired a signal gun.  Instantaneously, as if by magic, every ship in the harbor followed their leader's example; and then upwards of an hundred cannon echoes along the shores of the castellated Isle, and died away upon the sea.  This was as noble as it was unexpected, and called forth the unanimous approbation of the American seamen.  What a glorious hour for Freedom! When the ships of the King who once oppressed them, and from whose power they had been snatched by the hand of Washington, saluted the star gemmed banner, and thundered in honor of the birth of America's chosen leader.

            The children of Tyrants looked on with astonishment, and whispered of the glories of freedom!  The fettered slave rejoiced in his manacles, at the soul inspiring sound, and hope whispered to his burthened spirit that he might yet be free.  At nine A.M., the boats were manned, and hundreds of liberty men left old Ironsides for the shore --   Every man had received from the Purser five shiners, and now richer in feeling than Croesus, the jolly tars mingled in with the crowds of black eyed damsels, and were soon out of sight.  A sailor is a strange being --  he eats, drinks, walks, rides, and sleeps, differently from any one else.  He spends his money like a prince, and six times out of seven gets as drunk as a lord.

            When the hour of twelve arrived, the same salute was fired from the shipping, and at evening.  After all the vessels in the harbor had sent down their royal yards, the Constitution ran up the standard of Great Britain, and fired a royal salute.  A complimentary message was then sent to the British Admiral by the American Commodore, and the honors of the day were over; not so with the liberty men on shore.  They had hired all the jackasses they could find, and some with their faces to the stern and some side-ways scoured through the rocky streets like a set of mischievous children just let loose from school.  One sailor, caught an old lady who was riding quietly along upon a donkey with two large breakers of milk at each bridle rein; and seating her quietly in a gutter, mounted her beast and galloped off like the wind, while the agitated milk covered him from clue to earing [sic] and left in his path a milky way indeed.--  After bothering the old crone sufficiently, for his own satisfaction, he rode back to her, mounted her upon her donkey as before, slipped a dollar into her hand, and quietly dodged into a posada; while the guard that had collected to punish him went soberly about their own business, well pleased that jack had taken himself off in season, to avoid a bob wigged judge and the calaboose.

            The American Navy stands deservedly high in every quarter of the world.  With many little faults, but with many more sterling good qualities: its officers mingle with the sea-dogs of the old world, and bear away the palm from their neighbors.  The English officers durng the Constitution's stay, treated the Americans with marked attention, and no one who was ignorant of the history of the two nations could have conceived that these officers were once the deadliest enemies, and that their hands had been deeply dyed in each other's blood.  Truly, it was a glorious hour, and it seemed as though the morning of the millennium had dawned upon the earth, and that the Lion and the Eagle were lying down peacefully together.  At ten, P.M., the liberty men were off to their vessel; and save the song of a happy inebriate from the dread precincts of the brig, and the laugh of a jolly reefer, as he cut the schoolmaster's hammock lashings and spilled him in a most undignified manner upon the cockpit floor, all was silent on board the Constitution.

[Jesse E. Dow as appointed Acting Professor of Mathematics by Commodore Jesse Duncan Elliott, and sailed with him in Constitution for the Mediterranean in August 1835.  His actual duty was as the Commodore's Secretary.  Detached at Lisbon early in 1836, he subsequently failed his examination for a permanent commission.  Constitution was at Malta for Washington's Birthday in 1838, so this lurid description is a "recreation." The Commodore's friend, J. G. Evans, did a painting of this event, which has been widely reproduced as an illustration and in as a jigsaw puzzle.]

Number 11 (September 10, 1840)

"Pacific Squadron.-- Frigate Constitution, Capt. Turner, Commo. A. Claxton, at Callao, April 12; officer and crew all well."                                (Page 175.)

Number 13 (September 24, 1840)

                                                                    "DEATHS.

"In Charlestown, Mass., on the 8^th inst., after a lingering illness, Samuel Cooper Hixon, Master in the U. S. Navy, aged 56 years."         (Page208.)

Number 15 (October 8, 1840)

"Pacific Squadron.-- Frigate Constitution, Capt. D. Turner, flag ship of Commo. Claxton, and schr. Shark, Lieut. Com'dt Bigelow, at Valparaiso, July 16."                                                                (Page 239.)

Number 20 (November 12, 1840)

     "Doubling Cape Horn.--  The following graphic account of the doubling of Cape Horn we copy from a letter from an officer of the United States ship Constitution, dated the 9^th of January last.

     ' While doubling Cape Horn, we experienced a tremendous gale.  For twenty-two days it blew with awful violence, and snowed, and rained, and hailed, almost incessantly.  Occasionally there would be a cessation of the gale, and the sun would shine out clear and beautiful; but this was only the precursor of more gales, blacker clouds, and if possible more tremendous seas.  One can hardly form an idea of the power and sublimity of a storm at sea, who has not experienced one.  You must hear the howling of the wind -- the incessant roar of the ocean, and behold the mountain waves, appearing as if they would swallow the ship -- at one moment lifted upon the monstrous waves, and then pitched headlong into the trough of the ocean -- the waves breaking over the decks, the masts cracking, the vessel groaning, and hear the hoarse trumpet as the orders are given -- in order to realize it.  Nearly all the time, during the height of the storm, we lay under storm stay-sails.  All the higher masts were sent on deck with the yards and sails, leaving the ship with only her main and top masts, in order that as little surface as possible might be exposed to the wind.  The most wearying thing during a storm, is the pitching and rolling of the ship, which you must be constantly guarded against, or you may be killed at any moment.  A number of the midshipmen were injured by being precipitated down the cock-pit hatch.  One night a large mahogany table came tumbling down, and deposited itself, legs up, alongside my cot.  Camp stools and chairs went dancing about, as if possessed of life.

     'But the most amusing occurrence during a gale, is the eating, or rather the manner in which it is performed.  The table being lashed, and the plates and dishes placed upon it, we sit down to dine.  Now on shore it is a perfectly easy thing to eat your dinner, and if hungry, quite agreeable.  But suppose some one should get under your table, and suddenly raise one side up so high as to form an angle of nearly forty-five degrees with the walls of the room, and another standing behind, jerk your chair from under you, sending you sliding away on hands and feet to leeward, while your neighbor, who may, by holding on to the table, maintain his seat, gets the contents of the soup tureen in his lap; and then after picking up the fragments of the broken dishes, and reseating yourself at the table, you have time  to eat a moment, and the same operation is repeated.  You would not, I am sure, think this a very agreeable way of dining.  Some of my messmates secured themselves at table, by holding on to life lines, which are cords secured to the beams overhead, which was the only way of maintaining a fixed position.  When the caterer, who presides at the table, finds a sea coming, which can be known by the motion of the ship, he sings out "hold on to the potatoes," "take care of that soup," "look out for the dishes," or whatever may be on the table, and each one secures what he can; but notwithstanding all our precaution, we lost most of our crockery.  The ship was much strained, in consequence of her rolling in the trough of the sea, and her mast loosened, but we did not sustain any serious damage.' --N. Y. Com. Advertiser."                      (Pages 308-9.)

Number 25 (December 17, 1840)

                                                        "MARRIAGES.

           "In Mobile, Ala., on the 8^th ultimo, P. Mid. John Newland Maffitt, U. S. navy, to Miss M. Florence Murrell."                              (Page 384.)

Volume XII

Number 35 (September 2, 1841)

                                                             "MARRIAGES.

"In Brooklyn, N. Y., on the 10^th July, Lieut. Samuel W. Hazard, of the U. S. navy, to Miss Martha, daughter of the late Charles D'Wolfe, Esq., of Newport, R. I."                                                                      (Page 280.)

Number 44 (November 4, 1841)

                                          "Correspondence of the Army and Navy Chronicle.

"The U. S. frigate Constitution arrived in Hampton Roads on Sunday last, 31^st October, ult., 110 days from the coast of Peru, via Rio Janeiro, Brazil, 45 days from the latter place.  She sailed from Callao on the 11^th July last.  Left the U. S. ship Dale, schooner Shark, and ship Relief, all well.

"The following changes of officers took place on the Constitution leaving the station: Lieut. James Brown of Constitution, exchanging with Lieut. W. W. Bleecker, of the Dale; Lieut. Bleecker, exchanging with Lieut. W. A. Wurts, of the Shark, Lieut. Wurts joining the Constitution.  Passed Mid. M. Hunt, of the Shark, exchanged with Midshipman George H. Cooper, of the Constitution.  Midshipman J. S. Maury, ordered from the Shark to the Constitution.  Midshipman W. W. Polk, ordered from the Relief to the Constitution….

"The following is a list of the officers on board the Constitution.  Those marked * (a star,) joined the Constitution at Rio Janeiro from the U. S. frigate Potomac.  Com. Charles G. Ridgely, and his Secretary, G. P. Stevenson, Esq., came passengers from rio Janeiro in the Constitution.

"Captain, Daniel Turner, Esq., Commander, Edw. W. Carpender, Lieutenants, Thompson D. Shaw, 1st, William Smith, 2d, Peter Turner, 3d, William A.Wurts, 4^th, Alexander Gibson, 5^th, G. M. McCreery, 6^th.   Surgeon, Thomas Dillard.  Purser, McKean Buchanan.   Lieut. of Marines, Jabez C. Rich.  Acting Master, L. Sartori.  Acting Chaplain, J. F. Girard.  Passed Midshipmen, M. Hunt, F. S. Haggerty.  Assistant Surgeons, Charles Maxwell, Saml. Jackson.  Midshipmen, W. C. B. S. Porter, *C. Smith, Catesby ApRoger Jones, S. Bent, T. L. Kinlock, J. P. McFarland, W. W. Roberts, J. S. Maury, C. Hays, A. K. Hughes, H. T. Arnold, *W. E. Hopkins, J. S. Day, R. T. Renshaw, W. W. Polk, *E. Simpson, *F. P. Wheelock, J. F. Sperry.  Acting Master's Mate, E. F. Olmstead.  Captain's Clerk, Geo. Walker.  Boatswain, R. H. O'Neal.  Gunner, Gustavus Newman.  Carpenter, J. Cahill.  Sail Maker, Nathl. B. Peel.  Purser's Assistant, W. W. Cardwell.

                                         ------------------

"The U. S. frigate Constitution fell in with on Saturday, Oct., 23, in latitude 32 degrees 13 minutes, north, longitude 65 degrees 4 min. wst of Greenwich, the American barque 'Sarah,' of Boston, bound to New York, 48 days out from Rio Janeiro, with loss of some spars and sails.  The Constitution supplied her with some canvass [sic], &c. to repair her sails, and some provisions -- beef and bread.  The Constitution experienced the same terrific night with the Sarah, (the 21^st October,) when she had blown to pieces a reefed topsail.  The Constitution has been on the coast for several days in westerly gales, and calms, and light winds."

                                                                               (Pages 349-50.)

Number 46 (November 18, 1841)

                                                         "MARRIAGES.

     "In Norfolk on the 4th, inst., Lieut. Richard L. Page, of the U. S. navy, to Sarah Alexina, daughter of the late Richard Taylor, Esq., of that place."     (Page 367.)

Volume 13 [sic]

Number 1 (January 22, 1842)

                                                                "MARRIAGES.

     "In New York, the 13^th inst., Passed Midshipman John S. Neville, of the U. S. navy, to Charlotte A., daughter of Newton Hayes, Esq."                      (Page 16.)

Number 2 (January 29, 1842)

                                                                "MARRIAGES.

     "At Washington, on the 24^th, inst., Levin M. Powell, Lieutenant in the U. S. navy, to Jeannette C. Thruston (sic), daughter of the late Judge Thruston, of Washington."                                                 (Page 32.)

Number 9 (March 19, 1842)

"March 12 -- Preparatory orders have been issued to the following named officers to hold themselves in readiness for subsequent orders:

                  "…

                  "Captain E. R. Shubrick, command of frigate Constitution…"    (Page 144.)

At this point, the Army and Navy Chronicle became the Army and Navy Chronicle, and Scientific Repository, and began a new number series.

Volume I

Number 5 (February 9, 1843)

            "31 [Jan.]--Lieut. G. M. Hooe , detached from Constitution."  (Page 159.)

Number 6 (February 16, 1843)

            "11 [Feb]--Lieut. B. W. Hunter det'd from Constitution."   (Page 189.)

Number 24 (June 22, 1843)

            "Captain John Percival has been ordered to the command of the ship Franklin, as soon as the Board of Examiners adjourns."   (Page 757.)

Number 25 (June 29, 1843)

            "23 [Jun]--Capt. J. Percival, order to command of the Franklin suspended till further orders."     (Page 798.)

Volume II

Number 1 (July 6, 1843)

            "3 [Jul]--Capt J Percival, temporary command of ship Franklin."   (Page 31.)

Number 16 (October 19, 1843)

            13 [Oct.] -- Capt. J. Percival, command frigate Constitution.   (Page 511.)

Number 17 (October 26, 1843)

            "The remainder of the term of suspension of Commodore Elliott has been remitted by the President of the United States.  Commodore E. is therefore restored to service, and awaiting orders."  (Page 537.)

Number 18 (November 2, 1843)

            "The last tribute of respect has been paid to the remains of the late Commodore Alexander Claxton.  They were interred on Monday last [30 Oct], with appropriate military honors, at Green Mount Cemetery, Baltimore.  Long may it be before the last tribute be paid to his memory."   (Page 571.)

Volume III

Number 16 (April 18, 1844)

"The frigate Constitution, bound to New York, was towed down to Hampton Roads, Sunday afternoon.  The following is a list of her officers:

                 Captain John Percival.

     Lieutenants, Amasa Paine, Wm C. Chaplin, Jas Alden, Jr., James W. Cooke, John B. Dale, Fabius Stanly.

                 Purser, Thos M Taylor.

                 Surgeon, Daniel C. McLeod.

                 Acting Master, Gough W. Grant.

                 Lieut. Marines, Joseph W. Curtis.

                 Prof. of Mathematics, Ethan Esterbrook.

                Asst, Surgeons, Marius Duvall, Richard McSherry, Jr.

                 Passed Midshipman, R. A. Knapp.

     Midshipmen, Lucius M. Mason, W. P. Buckner, W. F. Davidson, A. F. Warley, J. E. Hopson, G. B. Douglass, Colville Terrett, Robert Patton, Cornelius Comegys, J. J. Cook.              

                 Captain's Clerk, Benjamin F. Stevens.

                 Purser's Clerk, John Collins.

                 Gunner, George Sirian.

                 Boatswain, Robert Simpson.

                 Carpenter, Henry G. Thomas.

                 Sailmaker, Isaac Whitney.

                 Yeoman, Abraham Noyes.

            NOTHING

Number 22 (May 30, 1844)

"The frigate Constitution sailed from New York for Rio Janeiro yesterday…"   (Page 703.)

The paper ceased publication with this volume.

"The Twenty-second of February, at Malta," by J. E. Dow, Esq., in United States Military Magazine, Vol. 2, p. 12

            It was morning, at Calypso's Isle, and a heavy fog hung over the yellow bastions of the strong hold of the once invincible knights of Saint John.  Etna's distant peak was occasionally seen flashing like a diamond in the clear heavens above, and the faint whisper of a coming levanter lingered upon the silent sea.  As the hour of sunrise approached, the slight tap of a drum was heard from the port, and when the orb of day, like a red shield, peeped over the eastern waves, twenty six heavy cannon spoke the feelings cherished by freemen for the memory of the Father of his country.  The fog bow slowly lifted and past off in misty volumes towards Tunis; while the Constitution hung with Flags and streamers, flashed into sight, beautiful in her battle array.  The shores of Malta were now thronged by thousands; and the Turk, the Arab, the Jew, and the Maltese, looked on in silent wonder.  "What is it for?" now rung from an hundred voices from the Forts; but no answer was returned, until the American Almanac had been ransacked by a hundred busy bodies.

            The American consul's Flag now floated gaily in the distance, and the cry, "it is the anniversary of the birth of Washington!" passed from lip to lip, and a hum of approbation ran along that mighty multitude.  "At this moment, the Admiral ran up the Flag of the West at his royal mast head and fired a signal gun.  Instantaneously, as if by magic, every ship in the harbor followed their leader's example; and then upwards of an hundred cannon echoes along the shores of the castellated Isle, and died away upon the sea.  This was as noble as it was unexpected, and called forth the unanimous approbation of the American seamen.  What a glorious hour for Freedom! When the ships of the King who once oppressed them, and from whose power they had been snatched by the hand of Washington, saluted the star gemmed banner, and thundered in honor of the birth of America's chosen leader.

            The children of Tyrants looked on with astonishment, and whispered of the glories of freedom!  The fettered slave rejoiced in his manacles, at the soul inspiring sound, and hope whispered to his burthened spirit that he might yet be free.  At nine A.M., the boats were manned, and hundreds of liberty men left old Ironsides for the shore --   Every man had received from the Purser five shiners, and now richer in feeling than Croesus, the jolly tars mingled in with the crowds of black eyed damsels, and were soon out of sight.  A sailor is a strange being --  he eats, drinks, walks, rides, and sleeps, differently from any one else.  He spends his money like a prince, and six times out of seven gets as drunk as a lord.

            When the hour of twelve arrived, the same salute was fired from the shipping, and at evening.  After all the vessels in the harbor had sent down their royal yards, the Constitution ran up the standard of Great Britain, and fired a royal salute.  A complimentary message was then sent to the British Admiral by the American Commodore, and the honors of the day were over; not so with the liberty men on shore.  They had hired all the jackasses they could find, and some with their faces to the stern and some side-ways scoured through the rocky streets like a set of mischievous children just let loose from school.  One sailor, caught an old lady who was riding quietly along upon a donkey with two large breakers of milk at each bridle rein; and seating her quietly in a gutter, mounted her beast and galloped off like the wind, while the agitated milk covered him from clue to earing [sic] and left in his path a milky way indeed.--  After bothering the old crone sufficiently, for his own satisfaction, he rode back to her, mounted her upon her donkey as before, slipped a dollar into her hand, and quietly dodged into a posada; while the guard that had collected to punish him went soberly about their own business, well pleased that jack had taken himself off in season, to avoid a bob wigged judge and the calaboose.

            The American Navy stands deservedly high in every quarter of the world.  With many little faults, but with many more sterling good qualities: its officers mingle with the sea-dogs of the old world, and bear away the palm from their neighbors.  The English officers durng the Constitution's stay, treated the Americans with marked attention, and no one who was ignorant of the history of the two nations could have conceived that these officers were once the deadliest enemies, and that their hands had been deeply dyed in each other's blood.  Truly, it was a glorious hour, and it seemed as though the morning of the millennium had dawned upon the earth, and that the Lion and the Eagle were lying down peacefully together.  At ten, P.M., the liberty men were off to their vessel; and save the song of a happy inebriate from the dread precincts of the brig, and the laugh of a jolly reefer, as he cut the schoolmaster's hammock lashings and spilled him in a most undignified manner upon the cockpit floor, all was silent on board the Constitution.

[Jesse E. Dow as appointed Acting Professor of Mathematics by Commodore Jesse Duncan Elliott, and sailed with him in Constitution for the Mediterranean in August 1835.  His actual duty was as the Commodore's Secretary.  Detached at Lisbon early in 1836, he subsequently failed his examination for a permanent commission.  Constitution was at Malta for Washington's Birthday in 1838, so this lurid description is a "recreation." The Commodore's friend, J. G. Evans, did a painting of this event, which has been widely reproduced as an illustration and in as a jigsaw puzzle.]