Jasper Banner, Volume 1, Number 34, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 17 August 1854 — A Naval Reminiscence. [ARTICLE]

A Naval Reminiscence.

In the yearißft4, -whcrr- PrebleyCommodore of the American squadron in the Mediterranean, ing glory before Tripoli, aldce for himself, his olliecrs and crews, and ofhis country .Lieutenant Commandant Richard Somers had command under him, of the Nautilus, a schooner of 14 gums. During the several fights which had previously occured with the enemy, this officer had shown great bravery as a commander oL.gun_boat No. 1; and now suggested to the Commodore that a happy result might possibly be obtained by converting the ketch Intrepid, a captured craft of about 75 tons —the identical vessel witty which the gallant Decatur bad boarded, recaptured, and burned the frigate Philadelphia—into a fire ship and sending her into the harbor under the walls of tlie Ba shaw’s casthr. in direct contact with the entire marine force of tile Tripolitan. This daring and highly dangerous enterprise being determined upon; Somers with whom it had originated, received the order—to whieh he was thus entitled —to conduct it.; mnd the necessary preparations were promptly made by him. Fifteen thousand pounds of powder were 'first placed, loosly, in the hold of the ketch, and upon this, two hundred and fifty thirteen inch, fused shells, with a trai n attache-1 fro nr the ca't'n and fore pc ik. Only one, officer, the talented and iajncntrd Lieut. Henry Wadsworth —brother of the present ■Commodore Wadsworth—was to accompany him and Run* volunteer seamen to compose his crew. . All things were now iiv readiness, .•except the selection of ihtT'fnen—for it came to this at lad, every man on board the Nautilus having volunteered for the service. Tais done? ..itwas determined, without delay, to .attempt the enterprise—to succeed jin it cr perish. Two nights successively did the Intrepid move; hut owing to light and haffiing winds, nothing could be ;iiscom. li hedh Thesei" TaTlures and an untisualmownient in the harbor alter dark on the 3d night, led Corners to believe that the suspicions of the enemy had been excited.and they were on the lookout. It was the general impression that their powder hi quailtitv as was op hr"''!, f lic kcHvi--if-capiured-—would greatly tmrd~To profract.the .contest, before setting: e.saed lTie creW Tipon The" subject,. tt|!;ij‘g them dtbat .no man need accompany him, who had not (mine to the resolution to blow him •self lip father than by-ciTpti.rml'; arid that was fully his own <h termination!”Three -cheers- was the only reply. Tire gallant crew rose, as a single man, with the resolution of yielding up their lives, gooner thin sutrendey to their' enemies; while each stepped forward and begged as a favor, that lie might be permitted go apply lhe match! It was a glorious moment, and made an impression on the hearts of all witnessing it, never to be forgotten. All then took leave of every officer and of every man; in the most cheerful manner, with a shake of the hand, ns it they knew that their fate was doomed; and one and another, as they passed over the side to their post on board the might be Jjcard, in their own pocul-iar manner, 4;o cry out, “I say,Hm Johes, I leave you my blue jacket and duck trowsers, sfowed away in bag;’ and, ‘Bill vOurtis, you may have the tarpaulin hat, and gueuhsey frock, and them petticoat trowsers, I got in Malta,’ —and mind, hoys when you go home, give a good account pf*us!’ in like manner did each thus make his oral will, to which-the writerwas- w itness, And which last mill and tsioment he caused to be executed to the very letter. , ■ > ’ -vg It was about nine o’clock, on the night of the 4th of 5cp.t.,.1804, that Jhis third and last attempt was made. The Nautilus had been ordered to follow the Intrepid closely in, to pick up and bring out her boats crew, in case they should succeed in exploit Hence, though it was very dark. We never lost eight of her, as I had been “drrtretntt'b'J- The first Lieu tcn an t —t he] kite gallant Washington Reed who

commanded in the nbsenee of Som- j ers, to keep constant watch for herj witli a night glass. At the end of an hour, about 10 o’clock, P. Mg while. I woe engaged in this duty, the awful explosion took place. For a moment, the flash illumined the whole heavens around, while the terriflic concussion shook 4»vcrydhtng : far rind .near. - ■■ Thrh-aff' 1 was hushed again, and every*object veiled in darkness of double gloom. On board the Nautilus, the silence of death seemed to pervade the entire crew; hut quickly the din of kettle drum,beating to arms, with the noise of confusion,, and alarm, was heard j from the inhabitants on shore. To aid in the escape of the' boat, an order was given n'y Reed vSshow a Huh 1' —up on the- appearance of which, hundreds otshot, from an equal number of guns, of heavy calibre; from the batteries near, came rattling over arid around us. Rut we heeded them npUioae thought and one feeling alone had possession of bur soul .'--the preservation of Somers and his crew!

As moment after moment passed by without bringing with it the preconcerted signal from the boat, the anxiety on board became intense: and Ihc mell with lighted 1 antcrns, hung 1 themselves over the side of the vessel till their heads almost touched the water —a position, in which an object on its surfte can he seen farthest in a dark night—with the hopemf discovering something which would jive assurance edits safety.— •Still no boat crime? and no signal was given; and the unwebome condn- ; s; o n was at last force l upon us, that .the fearful alternative—-of ■ blowing themselves up rather than be captured —so bravely determined upon, i at the outset of the enterprise, had 1 bemt as bravely put in execution.— ! rite fact that the Intrepid, at thejime of the explosion, had not procecffeit, as far into the harbor, by several hundred it was the inten-liau-of her, before setting heron lire, confirmed us in; his apprehension; still, we lingered ] on the spot till —broad, day light--j though we lingered in vain—in the hope that come one; at least, of the number., might yet be rescued by ufrotn fi floating plank or spar, to tell the tale of his companions fate. To our astonishment, we learned ngxt day that Lieut. Israel, a gallant youth who had been sent witli orders from Com. Prebbie to* Somers, after be was r.n ler way in the ketch; had accompanied him in the expedition, and bad shared his destiny. Such was the end of the noble fel•Um.y, rtliu 1 H IV A' litres! only Bfti o lid Tin 1 beaten sis of-Um—pfm my V--fleet foi'ce vvith thcmsel ve». -ttft-: mediately under the guns, and with- ! in-pistol shot of a shore battery— j an achievement accomplished only j , in. their peculiar position,, by backinga te n. and keeping up an incessant j [ life of canvass bags, filled with 1000; musket bails'earth till • our gallant i Coibspodore, in the Constitution,” j stood in to take the firp of the battery, i and thus enable us under bis cover, to obey the order do come out of action'— a signal which had already been flying more than an- hour, and tfMch Somers?#? first would not and at last (from the fierceness of the fight) could not set.

. CR.izv r -=-A negm was brought up ■ before the Mayor of Charleston; 8. C, a short time since for stealing, ehiekens. “Well, Toby,” said Jiis honor, “what have you got to say for yourself?” “Nuliin but dis, boss; 1 was crazy as a bedbug when I stole dat ar pullet, coz I might have stole tie big rooster, And never done'it.— Dat shows ’elusively to my mind dat I was laboring under the delirium tremendous.” ■** UsfREMiTTiNo Ki,visNESR.-—A certain man went to California, and remained two years, leaving his wife dependent on her relatives. Mrs.!’., expatiating on the cruelty of such conduct, the absentee found a warm advocate in a friend. “I have heard,” said the latter, “that he is the kindest of men, and I know he writes to his-wife every packet.” • Vos, Im writes.” replied Mrs. F., “a parcel of flummery about, the agony of absence; butha»£cver remitted her a shilling. P.u .y o d . call that .kindness?” Why that is min-mitiing kindness.” Solitude is the nurse of a]l that is good j iiWitfafriM.---trite it nruch- j cs, and the more we witlirii'.iw from it the j bet 1* r we arc. . *