United States Coast Guard Academy - Tide Rips Yearbook (New London, CT)

Page 19 text:

CONTENTS ADMINISTRATION ACADEMY CLASSES SHIPS AND SERVICE 2; X Xxx Q QxX 1 xx k m MILITARY ATHLETICS ACTIVITIES 7 $ x 1U x3 km NNN VN N Y S X N g xw 1X K W m w W W 33x XX x

Page 18 text:

5-9.9,st WWWWW WW 1 1 xxx 1 Ext t . i 1 a i 1 Fuhg below the horizon, sails full, hull down, true on her course, and t i rapidly disappearing is the ship of by-gone days. Sail in all her glory . i carries performances unsurpassable by the modem steamships that rule i i Y: the seas today. i i X M We also, one of the last classes to receive instruction at the 01d Academy, i i i V and among the first at the new, see our iishiph of training days passing i i x quickly from view. Ingrained in mind and body, however, are the ideals . 1 set forth by the Service, to carry on and endeavor to measure tip to, the x actions of the men of the past. W i l i So we present this edition of TIDE RIPS with the same th as a i i compllation to help in some small way to convey to all, figs te needs h and high courage of the men in the Coast Guard, and second a L- , of i the ships that;s'erved sp-long and faithfully, both achieving the 2K , s'ble, M in face of overwhelming ofdsu W i i t .-

Page 20 text:

W TIDE RIPS MADISON HEN war was declared against Great Britain on June 18, 1812, the Revenue Cutters were fully prepared and standing by at their stations ready to defend the coast and commerce of the country. At the commencement of the hostilities, sixteen Cutters, each of about one hundred and twenty-five tons, carrying six to ten light guns and a complement of flfteen to thirty men, were ready for service. The vessels kept their previous assigned stations, always ready to sail in pursuit of any British vessel that was seen or reported in the vicinity. The cutters were always outnumbered, both in men and guns, in every engage- ment in which they took part. In spite of this handicap, their captures were many and their losses few. On June 15, 1813, the cutter SURVEYOR was captured by a surprise boarding party from the British ship NARCISSUS. The barges containing the boarders were discovered so close by that the deck guns could not be brought to bear on them, and a hand-to-hand encounter ensued on board the cutter. After a terriflc .battle in which both both sides suffered rriany casualties, the Revenue cutter captain was forced to surrender. His sword was refused by the British captain because of the gallant flght put up by the American crew against such superior odds. The cutter VIGILANT of Newport, sighted the British privateer DART off the harbor before sunset, and the captain called for a volunteer crew and set out in pursuit. After a short chase, the privateer was overtaken and captured by boarding after a short encounter on the decks of the DART. The Revenue cutter MADISON, one hundred and twelve tons, equipped with six twelve pound riHes and a crew of thirty men, made many captures during the war. Some of her many seizures were: the SNOW, mounting six heavy guns and a quantity of smaller pieces; the schooner WADE arid the privateer brig SHAMROCK of three hundred tons, mounting six guns and carrying sixteen men. The MADISON was captured, however, by a superior force of the enemy in 1813. The compactness of the cutters and the Yankee ingenuity of their othcers and crews were the reasons for such a notable record as they made against the British ships. The abilities of the men can best be brought out by the words of a British privateer captain who said, uYou fight vessels three times your size, having guns outnumbering you flve to one, and crews that are not even comparable in number; yet you carry on and we suffer untold casualties. I am at a loss whether to admire your many victories, or the manner in which you dispute the command of your deck, inch by inch.