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                     FOUR AMERICAN NAVAL HEROES
     PAUL JONES OLIVER H. PERRY ADMIRAL FARRAGUT ADMIRAL DEWEY

                     A BOOK FOR YOUNG AMERICANS
                       BY MABEL BORTON BEEBE
               WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY JAMES BALDWIN

                           [Illustration]
         WERNER SCHOOL BOOK COMPANY NEW YORK CHICAGO BOSTON




INTRODUCTION.


Four times in the history of our country has the American navy achieved
renown and won the gratitude of the nation. These four times correspond,
of course, to the four great wars that we have had; and with the mention
of each the name of a famous hero of the sea is at once brought to mind.
What would the Revolution have been without its Paul Jones; or the War
of 1812, without its Perry? How differently might the Civil War have
ended but for its Farragut; and the Spanish War, but for its Dewey! The
story of the achievements of these four men covers a large part of our
naval history.

[Illustration: SEAL OF THE U.S. NAVY.]

Six months after the battle of Lexington the Continental Congress
decided to raise and equip a fleet to help carry on the war against
England. Before the end of the year (1775) seventeen vessels were ready
for service, and it was then that Paul Jones began his public career.
Many other ships were soon added.

[Illustration: EZEK HOPKINS.]

The building and equipping of this first navy was largely intrusted to
Ezek Hopkins, whom Congress had appointed Commander-in-Chief, but it
does not seem that he did all that was expected of him, for within less
than two years he was dismissed. He was the only person who ever held
the title of Commander-in-Chief of the navy. During the war several
other vessels were added to the fleet, and over 800 prizes were captured
from the British. But before peace was declared twenty-four of our ships
had been taken by the enemy, others had been wrecked in storms, and
nearly all the rest were disabled. There was no effort to build other
vessels, and so, for many years, our country had no navy.

[Illustration: THE FRIGATE CONSTITUTION.]

In 1794, when war with the Barbary States was expected, Congress ordered
the building of six large frigates. One of these was the famous
_Constitution_, which is still in existence and about which Dr. Holmes
wrote the well-known poem called "Old Ironsides." Through all the
earlier years of our history, John Adams used his influence to
strengthen our power on the sea; and he was so far successful that he
has often been called "The Father of the American Navy." When the War of
1812 began the United States owned a great many gunboats for coast
defense, besides seventeen sea-going vessels. It was during this war
that the navy especially distinguished itself, and Oliver Hazard Perry
made his name famous.

[Illustration: A SLOOP OF WAR.]

The ships of war in those earlier times were wooden sailing vessels, and
they were very slow-goers when compared with the swift cruisers which
sail the ocean now. The largest of these vessels were called ships of
the line, because they formed the line of battle in any general fight at
sea. They usually had three decks, with guns on every deck. The upper
deck was often covered over, and on the open deck thus formed above
there was a fourth tier of guns. This open deck was called the
forecastle and quarter-deck. Some of the largest ships of the line
carried as many as 120 guns each; the smallest was built to carry 72
guns.

Next in size to these ships were the frigates. A frigate had only one
covered deck and the open forecastle and quarter-deck above it, and
therefore had but two tiers of guns. The largest frigate carried sixty
guns, besides a large pivot gun at the bow. The American frigates were
noted for their speed.

Still smaller than the frigates were the corvettes, or sloops of war, as
they are more commonly called. These had but one tier of guns, and that
was on the open deck. They were rigged like the larger vessels, with
three masts and