In 1814, as the War of 1812 continued President James Madison shared a number of stories to recognize American heroes of the war in both great victory and valiant defeat. One of these great men, was Captain David Porter who had commanded many U.S. naval ships including the famous USS Constitution. In the war of 1812, Captain Porter commanded the USS Essex and had captured 24 British prizes until he met up with two British frigates HMS Phoebe and Cherub under Captain James Hillyar on March 24, 1814 off the Pacific port of Valparaiso, Chile. The Phoebe had 36 guns and the Cherub 18 guns while the Essex manned 32 guns.
Captain Porter was looking for a fight, or as he later admitted he was 'in search of glory' and was not satisfied with the 24 prizes he had taken thus far. Captain Porter arrived in Valparaiso on February 3, 1814 knowing that the British squadron under Captain Hillyar would find him there. Porter was a fighting captain looking for a serious fight. Hillyar allowed the Essex to sail clear and anchor in an isolated part of the harbor while the Phoebe and the Cherub waited outside the harbor. For six weeks, Hillyar kept the Essex bottled up inside Valparaiso. Hillyar was not a glory-seeker like Porter, but rather a methodical officer taking careful steps to accomplish his goal. Captain Porter tried to escape, but on March 28, a strong wind blew up from the South and ripped off the main-topmast of the Essex and hurled it, along with several of Porter's men into the sea. This made maneuvering very difficult. Captain Hillyar took this golden opportunity to move Phoebe and Cherub into battle position and pounded the USS Essex for hours. Porter fought back as best he could, but soon the Essex had become an unmanageable wreck and was forced to surrender. 58 men were lost on the Essex with an additional 45 wounded and 31 missing. The Phoebe and Cherub only lost 5 men and 10 wounded. Madison told of Captain Porter's heroism.
"On the ocean the pride of our naval arms had been amply supported. A second frigate has indeed fallen into the hands of the enemy, but the loss is hidden in the blaze of heroism with which she was defended. Captain Porter, who commanded her, and whose previous career had been distinguished by daring enterprise and by fertility of genius, maintained a sanguinary contest against two ships, one of them superior to his own, and under other severe disadvantages, 'til humanity tore down the colors which valor had nailed to the mast. This officer and his brave comrades have added much to the rising glory of the American flag, and have merited all the effusions of gratitude which their country is ever ready to bestow on the champions of its rights and of its safety."Madison also gave mention to Captain Lewis Warrington and Captain Johnston Blakely who had captured British ships. Watrington commanded the sloop-of-war Peacock when on it's way back from St. Mary's George, he captured the British brig Epervier off Cape Canaveral, Florida. Captain Blakely commanded the newly built sloop-of-war Wasp and in June forced the British brig-sloop HMS Reindeer to surrender after more than half of the crew including the captain were killed or wounded. The Reindeer was so badly damaged, that the Americans set her on fire and let her sink.
"Two smaller vessels of war have also become prizes to the enemy, but by a superiority of force which sufficiently vindicates the reputation of their commanders, whilst two others, one commanded by Captain Warrington, the other by Captain Blakely, have captured British ships of the same class with a gallantry and good conduct which entitle them and their companions to a just share in the praise of their country."Warrington and Blakely were both awarded the Congressional Gold Medal. Captain Porter became a member of the Board of Navy Commissioners and later commanded an expedition to suppress piracy in the West Indies. During this time, Porter invaded the town of Fajardo, Puerto Rico to avenge the jailing of one of his officers. This action was not sanctioned by Porter's act and he was court-martialed. In 1826, Porter resigned from the US Navy and entered the Mexican Navy as it's commander in-chief until 1829. In 1829, Porter left the Mexican service and was appointed US Minister to the Barbary states until his death in 1843.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Valpara%C3%ADso
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Porter_(naval_officer)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnston_Blakeley
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinking_of_HMS_Reindeer
http://www.historynet.com/war-of-1812-commodore-david-porter-and-the-essex-in-the-south-pacific.htm
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c9/George-ropes-battle-of-valparaiso.png
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