Part 23 (1/2)
He wore short breeches, with knee-buckles, and silk stockings, and had the portly air, and bearing of a philosopher. Having learned to fly kites when a boy, he had turned the thing to some account when he had gotten to be a man, and was also well known as the author of ”Poor Richard's Almanac,” a book full of axiomatic wisdom, and wise saws. He had a much better field before him, therefore, than Mr. John Slidell had. ”_Tempora mutantur, et nos mutamur in illis_;” and Slidell found that the ”philosophers” who had petted Franklin, and the fair women who had played with the ta.s.sels of his three-cornered hat, showered bouquets upon him, and talked prettily of the new doctrines of liberty that were just then coming in vogue, had all pa.s.sed away. Neither philosophy, liberty, or knee-buckles were at all fas.h.i.+onable at the French Court when Slidell arrived there. In short, the people of France had found out that this thing of getting up a revolution for popular rights, however well it might suit other people, did not suit Frenchmen, and they were tired of the matter. They had, since Franklin's day, cut off the head of Louis XVI., played at republics a while, pretty much as children play at card-houses, now setting them up, and now knocking them down again, and having gotten tired of the game, like good children had gone back quietly to their old form of despotism, under Napoleon III., and were content! The sympathy which they had bestowed upon Franklin, and which was productive of so many good results, in our first revolution, had dried up in the second and greater revolution.
Having thus briefly introduced the Commissioners of the Colonies to the reader, let us again look into Cooper, to see what their business was in France, and how they performed it. ”In order,” says this writer, ”to complete the account of the proceedings of the American Commissioners in Paris, so far as they were connected with naval movements during the years 1776 and 1777, it is necessary to come next to the affair of Captain Conyngham, which, owing to some marked circ.u.mstances, made more noise than the cruises of the _Reprisal_ and _Lexington_, though the first exploits of the latter were anterior as to time, and not of less consequence in their effects. While the Commissioners were directing the movements of Captain Wickes [we will come to these presently] in the manner that has been mentioned, they were not idle in other quarters. A small frigate was building at Nantes, on their account, and there will be occasion to speak of her hereafter, under the name of the _Queen of France_.
”Some time in the spring of 1777, an agent was sent to Dover by the American Commissioners, where he purchased a fine, fast-sailing, English-built cutter, and had her carried across to Dunkirk. Here she was privately equipped as a cruiser, and named the _Surprise_. To the command of this vessel, Captain Gustavus Conyngham was appointed, _by filling up a blank commission_ from John Hanc.o.c.k, the President of Congress. This commission bore date, March 1st, 1777, and, it would seem, as fully ent.i.tled Mr. Conyngham to the rank of captain in the Navy, as any other that was ever issued by the same authority. Having obtained his officers and crew at Dunkirk, Captain Conyngham sailed on a cruise about the 1st of May, and on the 4th he took a brig called the _Joseph_,” &c.
Now, it is to be remarked, with reference to this pa.s.sage, that the _Alabama_, though built in England, was not armed or equipped there, nor was her crew enlisted there; whilst the _Surprise_ was not only ”privately equipped as a cruiser,” at Dunkirk, a port of France, then at peace with England--for France had not yet joined the Colonies in the war--but she got all her officers and crew there, many of whom were Frenchmen. And when she got up her anchor for a cruise, still lying in the waters of France, she was a perfectly armed and equipped s.h.i.+p of war. She could have engaged an enemy, immediately upon pa.s.sing beyond the marine league, whereas the _Alabama_, when she left the Mersey, was entirely unarmed, and without an enlisted crew, and could have been taken possession of by an enemy's cruiser as easily as any other merchant-s.h.i.+p. Mr. Seward insisted, with much vehemence, with the English Government, that the _Alabama_ was not ent.i.tled to be regarded as a s.h.i.+p of war, but rather a ”British pirate,” because she had never been in a Confederate port. His latest form of protest is found in a letter to Lord Stanley, the British Secretary for Foreign Affairs, of the date of January 12th, 1867, as follows:--
”Lord Stanley excuses the reception of the vessels complained of in British ports, subsequently to their fraudulent escapes and armament, on the ground that when the vessels appeared in these ports, they did so in the character of properly commissioned cruisers of the Government of the so-styled Confederate States, and that they received no more shelter, provisions, or facilities, than was due to them in that character. This position is taken by his lords.h.i.+p in full view of the facts that--with the exception of the _Sumter_ and the _Florida_--none of the vessels named were ever found in any place where a lawful belligerent commission could either be conferred or received. It would appear, therefore, that, in the opinion of her Majesty's Government, a British vessel, in order to acquire a belligerent character against the United States, had only to leave the British port where she was built, clandestinely, and to be fraudulently armed, equipped, and manned anywhere in Great Britain, or in any foreign country, or on the high seas; and in some foreign country, or upon the high seas, to set up and a.s.sume the t.i.tle and privileges of a belligerent, without even entering the so-called Confederacy, or ever coming within any port of the United States. I must confess that, if a lawful belligerent character can be acquired in such a manner, then I am unable to determine by what different course of proceeding a vessel can become a pirate and an enemy to the peace of nations.”
Had Mr. Seward forgotten, when he wrote the above, the case of Dr.
Franklin's s.h.i.+p, the _Surprise_? It will be recollected, too, that Mr.
Adams, the United States Minister at the Court of London, frequently protested, in his correspondence with the English Foreign Office, against the Confederates being permitted to have ”stationed agents,” at Liverpool, and elsewhere in the British dominions, conducting a ”Naval Bureau.” Had he forgotten the ”Naval Bureau” which was conducted in France, by Dr.
Franklin and Silas Deane, who were ”stationed agents” of the Colonies? How they built, and purchased, and equipped, and commissioned s.h.i.+ps, all in neutral territory; even filling up blank commissions sent out to them by the Congress for the purpose?
But to continue with our precedents. The career of the _Surprise_ was not a very long one. Having carried some prizes into a French port, in violation of a treaty then existing between France and Great Britain, providing that neither should permit the enemies of the other to bring their prizes into her ports, she was seized by the French authorities, and we hear no more of her. But we do hear more, and that immediately, from the Naval Bureau in Paris, under the guidance of Dr. Franklin and Silas Deane. As soon as the seizure of the _Surprise_ became known to the Commissioners, they dispatched one of their agents, a Mr. Hodge, to Dunkirk, where he purchased another cutter, which was fitted with all dispatch, as a cruiser, as the _Surprise_ had been. This second vessel was called the _Revenge_, and ”Captain Conyngham and his people,” to use the words of the historian, were transferred to her. A new commission was given to Conyngham, dated on the 2d of May, 1777, filled up, as before, by the Commissioners, and he soon afterward proceeded to sea under it.
It will be seen with what indulgence, and even connivance the Commissioners were treated by the French authorities. The seizure of the _Surprise_ was a mere blind, intended to satisfy England. The s.h.i.+p herself was suffered to pa.s.s out of view, but another s.h.i.+p was permitted to be equipped in her stead, and the officers and crew of the old s.h.i.+p were transferred to the new one, with little or no disguise, and the latter was suffered to depart on a cruise without molestation. Here was another s.h.i.+p, which had never been in any port of the Colonies, and which, according to Mr. Seward's vocabulary, was a ”pirate.” Let us see what she did. ”The _Revenge_,” continues the historian, ”proved exceedingly successful, making prizes daily, and _generally destroying them_. Some of the more valuable, however, were ordered into Spain, where many arrived; their arrival proving of great moment to the agents of the American Government in Europe. It is even affirmed, that the money advanced to Mr. Adams [the Mr. Adams, here spoken of, was John Adams, afterward second President of the United States, the grandfather of Mr. Charles Francis Adams, Federal Minister to England during the war; and the antagonism in which the grandfather, and grandson are placed, in reference to the principles I am discussing, is one of the curious revolutions of history] for travelling expenses, when he arrived in Spain, a year or two later, was derived from this source.”
The _Revenge_ now disappears from view, as the _Surprise_ had done before her, and the historian takes up the _Reprisal_, the s.h.i.+p, as we have seen, which carried Dr. Franklin over to France. ”The _Reprisal_, having refitted, soon sailed toward the Bay of Biscay, on another cruise. Here she captured several more vessels, and among the rest a King's packet, that plied between Falmouth and Lisbon. When the cruise was up, Captain Wickes went into Nantes, taking his prizes with him. The complaints of the English now became louder, and the American Ministers were _secretly_ admonished of the necessity of using greater reserve. The prizes were directed to quit France, though the _Reprisal_, being leaky, was suffered to remain in port, in order to refit. The former were taken into the offing, and sold, _the state of the times rendering these informal proceedings necessary_. Enormous losses to the captors were the consequences, while it is not improbable, that the gains of the purchasers had their influence _in blinding the local authorities_ to the character of the transaction.”
Here we see not only a violation of neutrality, but a little bribery going on, these ”rebel pirates” having an eye to the ”flattering results,”
spoken of by Mr. Cooper, some pages back. The historian proceeds. ”The business appears to have been managed with dexterity, and the proceeds of the sales, such as they were, proved of great service to the agents of the Government, by enabling them to _purchase other vessels_.” We see how capitally those ”stational agents,” Franklin and Deane, were conducting that ”Naval Bureau,” against the like of which, in our case, Mr. Adams had so warmly protested. I again quote: ”In April, the _Lexington_ arrived in France, and the old difficulties were renewed. But the Commissioners at Paris, who had been authorized to equip vessels, appoint officers, and do other matters to annoy the enemy, now planned a cruise that surpa.s.sed anything of the sort that had yet been attempted in Europe, under the American flag. Captain Wickes was directed to proceed to sea, with his own vessel and the _Lexington_, and to go directly off Ireland, in order to intercept a convoy of linen s.h.i.+ps, that was expected to sail about that time. A cutter of ten guns called the _Dolphin_, that had been detained by the Commissioners, to carry despatches to America, was diverted from her original destination, and placed under the orders of Captain Wickes. The _Dolphin_ was commanded by Lieutenant Nicholson, a brother of the senior captain, and a gentleman who subsequently died at the head of the service.
Captain Wickes, in command of this light squadron, sailed from Nantes, about the commencement of June, going first into the Bay of Biscay, and afterward entirely around Ireland, sweeping the sea before him, of everything that was not of a force to render an attack hopeless. The linen s.h.i.+ps were missed, but many vessels were taken _or destroyed_.
”The sensation produced among the British merchants, by the different cruises in the European sea, that have been recorded in this chapter, is stated in the diplomatic correspondence of the day to have been greater than that produced in the previous war by the squadron of the celebrated Thurot. Insurance rose to an enormous height, and in speaking of the cruise of Captain Wickes, in particular, Mr. Deane observes in one of his letters to Robert Morris, that it 'effectually alarmed England, prevented the great fair at Chester, occasioned insurance to rise, and even deterred the English merchants from s.h.i.+pping in English bottoms, at any rate, so that, in a few weeks, forty sail of French s.h.i.+ps were loading in the Thames, on freight, an instance never known before.' In the same letter the Commissioner adds: 'In a word, Conyngham, by his first and second bold expeditions, is become the terror of all the eastern coasts of England and Scotland, and is more dreaded than Thurot was in the late war.'”
This same Captain Conyngham, afterward, while cruising on the American coast, fell into the hands of the enemy. He had, of course, become odious to the English people, and they had denounced him as a ”pirate,” as our Northern people have denounced the writer of these pages. Conyngham was closely confined, and the English admiral, whose fleet was then stationed in the waters of New York, threatened to send him to England for trial.
Let us see what steps the American Congress took in behalf of this ”rebel pirate,” as soon as it heard of these proceedings. The subject having been brought to its notice, it directed its Secretary, Charles Thompson, to address a letter of remonstrance to the British admiral, threatening retaliation, if he dared to execute his threats. I quote from the journals of Congress:--
”In Congress a.s.sembled, July 1799.--A letter of the 17th instant, from Ann Conyngham, and a pet.i.tion from a number of inhabitants of Philadelphia were read, representing that Captain Gustavus Conyngham, now a prisoner with the enemy, is closely confined, and ordered to be sent to England, and praying that measures may be taken for the security of his person: _Ordered_, That the same be referred to a committee of three. The members chosen, Mr. Morris, Mr. d.i.c.kinson, and Mr. Whipple. The committee to whom were referred the pet.i.tion, and letter respecting Gustavus Conyngham, brought in a report; whereupon, _Resolved_, That the following letter from the Secretary of Congress, be written to the admiral, or other commanding officer of the fleet, or s.h.i.+ps of his Britannic Majesty, lying in the harbor of New York, viz.:
”'Sir, I am directed by the Congress of the United States of America to inform you, that they have received evidence that Gustavus Conyngham, a citizen of America, late commander of an armed vessel in the service of the said States, and taken on board of a private armed cutter, hath been treated in a manner contrary to the dictates of humanity, and the practice of _Christian, civilized nations_. I am ordered, in the name of Congress, to demand that good and sufficient reason be given for this conduct, or that the said Gustavus Conyngham be immediately released from his present rigorous, and _ignominious_ confinement.
”'With all due respect, I have the honor to be, Sir,
”'Your most obedient and humble servant.'
”_Resolved_, That, unless a satisfactory answer be received to the foregoing letter, on or before the 1st day of August next, the Marine Committee do immediately order to be confined, in close and safe custody, so many persons as they may think proper, in order to abide the fate of the said Gustavus Conyngham. _Ordered_, That the above letter be immediately transmitted to New York, by the Board of War, and that copies of said letter and resolution be delivered to the wife of Conyngham, and the pet.i.tioners.
”_Monday, Dec. 13th, 1779._--A memorial of Christopher Hale was read, praying to be exchanged, and to have leave to go to New York, upon his parole, for a few days, to procure a person in his room.
_Resolved_, That Mr. Hale be informed, that the prayer of his memorial cannot be granted, until Captain Conyngham is released, as it has been determined that he must abide the fate of that officer.”
Conyngham was afterward released. This is the way in which the ancestors of Mr. Seward, and Mr. Charles Francis Adams, took care of their ”rebel pirates.”
There is one other point in the legal history of the _Alabama_, which it is necessary to notice, and to which I propose to adduce another of those awkward precedents, which I have exhumed from those musty old records, which our Northern brethren seem so thoroughly to have forgotten. It has been charged against the _Alabama_, that her crew was composed mostly of foreigners, and that this was another reason why she was not ent.i.tled to be considered as a Confederate States s.h.i.+p of war. Let us look a little into this charge. A sovereign is not only not obliged to account to other nations, for the manner in which he becomes possessed of his s.h.i.+ps of war, as we have seen, but he cannot be questioned as to the nativity or naturalization of the persons serving on board of them. It could have been of no sort of consequence to any foreign officer, demanding to see my commission, whether I was a native of England, Germany, or France, or of any other foreign power. All that he could demand of me, in order to satisfy himself that I was ent.i.tled to exercise belligerent rights, was a sight of my commission as a _Confederate States naval officer_.
Nationality is presumed in all such commissions, and the presumption cannot be inquired into. Mr. Justice Story, in the decision quoted a few pages back, says, as the reader will recollect, that the commission of a s.h.i.+p of war imports such ”absolute verity,” that it cannot be inquired into, or contradicted. It is like proving a fact by a record. No other proof than the production of the record is required, or indeed permitted.
The commission of the commander is the commission of his s.h.i.+p. Neither the _Sumter_ nor the _Alabama_ had any other commission than my own, and the orders a.s.signing me to them. If this be the law with regard to the commander of a s.h.i.+p, _a fortiori_, must it be the law with reference to the subordinate officers and crew.
The writers on international law, without exception, lay down the rule, that a sovereign may enlist foreigners to a.s.sist him in his wars; and that the men thus enlisted are ent.i.tled to all the protection of belligerents, equally with native citizens. The Swiss foreign legions, so well known in history, are notable ill.u.s.trations of this doctrine; and no one has ever heard of a Swiss being hung because he served under a foreign flag.