A noted privateer, fitted out in New York in 1812.
The merchants of New York fitted out no less than twenty-six fast-sailing privateers and letters-of-marque within 120 days after the declaration of war (1812), carrying about 200 pieces of artillery, and manned by over 2,000 seamen.
Among the most noted of these privateers was the
General Armstrong, a moderatesized schooner, mounting a “Long Tom” 42-pounder and eighteen carronades.
Her complement was 140 men; her first commander was
Captain Barnard; her second,
Capt. G. R. Champlin.
Early in March, 1813, while
Champlin was cruising off the Surinam River, on the coast of
South America, he gave chase to the British sloop-of-war
Coquette, mounting twenty-seven guns and manned by 126 men and boys.
They engaged in conflict between nine and ten o'clock (March 11, 1813). Supposing his antagonist to be a British letter-of-marque,
Champlin ran the
Armstrong down upon her, with the intention of boarding her. When it was too late,
Champlin discovered that she was a heavier vessel than he suspected.
They poured heavy shot into each other, and for a while the fight was very obstinate, within pistol-shot distance.
Champlin was wounded and his vessel severely bruised, but, getting free from the
Coquette by a vigorous use of sweeps, the
Armstrong escaped under a heavy fire from her antagonist.
The Tammany Society of New York gave the captain an elegant sword, and voted thanks to his companions in the fight.
In 1814 the
General Armstrong was under the command of
Capt. Samuel C. Reid, and in September she was in the harbor of
Fayal, one of the islands of the
Azores, belonging to
Portugal.
It was a neutral port, and
Reid did not expect to be disturbed there by British vessels.
He was mistaken.
On the 26th
Commodore Lloyd appeared off the harbor with his flag-ship, the
Plantagenet, seventy-four guns; the frigate
Rota, forty-four,
Captain Somerville; and the brig
Carnation, eighteen,
Captain Bentham; each with a full complement of men. the
Armstrong had only seven guns and ninety men, including her officers.
In violation of the laws and usages
[
42]
of neutrality,
Lloyd sent into the harbor, at eight o'clock in the evening, four large and well-armed launches, manned by about forty men each.
At that time
Reid, suspecting mischief, was warping his vessel under the guns of the castle.
The moon was shining brightly.
The barges and the privateer opened fire almost simultaneously, and the launches were driven off with heavy loss.
At midnight fourteen launches were sent in, manned by about 500 men. A terrible conflict ensued, which lasted forty minutes, when the launches were again repulsed, with a loss of 120 killed and 130 wounded. At daylight (Sept. 27) a third attack was made by the brig
Carnation, which opened heavily, but was soon so cut up by the well-directed guns of the
Armstrong that she hastily withdrew.
The privateer was also much damaged, and it being evident that she could not endure a fourth attack,
Captain Reid directed her to be scuttled, to prevent her falling into the hands of the
British.
She was then abandoned, when the
British boarded her and set her on fire.
While the
British lost over 300 men in the three attacks, the
Armstrong lost only two men killed and seven wounded during the ten hours.
To
Captain Reid and his brave men is justly due the credit of saving New Orleans from capture.
Lloyd's squadron
was a part of the expedition then gathering at
Jamaica for the invasion of
Louisiana.
The object of the attack on the
Armstrong was to capture her, and make her a useful auxiliary in the work.
She so crippled her assailants that they did not reach
Jamaica until ten days later than the expedition intended to sail from there.
It had waited for
Lloyd, and when it approached
New Orleans Jackson had made ample arrangements to receive the invaders.
Had they arrived ten days sooner the city must have fallen.
The
State of New York gave
Captain Reid thanks and a sword, and he was greeted with enthusiasm on his return to the
United States.
The Portuguese government demanded and received from the
British an apology for the violation of neutrality, and restitution for the destruction of Portuguese property at
Fayal during the action.
That government also demanded satisfaction and indemnification for the destruction of the American vessel in their neutral port.
This was refused, and neither the owners of the vessel nor their heirs ever received indemnification for their losses either from
Great Britain or
Portugal.
