Military Officer - May 2007 - (Page 58)

F ROM TH E T I M E S PA N I S H discovered wealth in the new world and began transporting gold, silver, pearls, and other treasures from Latin America to Spain, pirates were not far behind. Beginning in the mid-1550s and extending over the next two-and-a-half centuries, ships sailing the Caribbean Sea were vulnerable to pirate attacks. ■ 1815 to 1820 was a time of unusually severe disruption because of a wave of piracy. In 1820 alone, 27 American ships were attacked and plundered. Because the ships were insured, high losses forced insurance companies to raise premiums sharply. As losses mounted, ship owners and insurance companies, along with American politicians, demanded effective action to stem the tide of piracy. EX P LORE RS Responding in 1821, President Monroe authorized the U.S. Navy to establish an antipiracy squadron. The most logical person to lead this new and unique unit was Capt. David Porter, already regarded as a naval hero. Born in Boston Feb. 1, 1780, Porter entered the Navy as a midshipman in 1798. He was engaged in military action against France and fought in the Tripolitan War against the pirate states of North Africa. Porter became a prisoner of war when the USS Philadelphia was captured off Tripoli in October 1803. Upon release in 1805, Porter commanded the USS Enterprise and later 58 MILITARY OFFICER M AY 2 0 0 7 took charge of naval forces at New Orleans. But his claim to fame was cemented during the War of 1812. In July of that year, the U.S. declared war against the British. Porter assumed command of the 32-gun frigate USS Essex and ﬁrst sailed from New York toward Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, where he conducted a highly effective series of attacks on British ships, subsequently capturing several. In early 1813, Porter and the Essex sailed into South American waters, rounding Cape Horn into the Paciﬁc and becoming the ﬁrst American warship to reach that ocean. There he continued skirmishing with British whalers. In early 1814, the Essex entered the neutral harbor of Valparaiso, Chile. Unfortunately for Porter and his crew, British Capt. James Hillyar of the HMS Phoebe discovered the Essex and trapped it in the harbor for six weeks. On March 28, Porter made a break for the open sea, but a sudden, ﬁerce storm damaged the Essex. Hillyar attacked. For two hours, Phoebe’s cannons pounded the Essex. When it became clear his ship was doomed, Porter tried to run her aground to burn the ship. However, winds kept pushing the Essex out to sea. According to Porter, the Phoebe’s “shot never missed our hull, and my ship was cut up in a manner which was perhaps never before witnessed; in ﬁne, I saw no hopes of saving her, and at 20 minutes after 6 p.m. I gave the painful order to strike the colors.” Porter was forced to surrender. Even though he had been a blight to the British, they had considerable respect for his skills as a naval ofﬁcer and military strategist. Consequently, Porter was paroled promptly and sent to New York on the condition he would no longer ﬁght against them. Returning to Washington, D.C., as a popular war hero, Porter joined the newly constituted Board of Navy Commissioners, a high-level advisory board to the Navy secretary. But as a dedicated seaman, Porter became restless and requested some kind of sea duty again. That is when he was selected to lead the new Navy unit speciﬁcally formed to ﬁght pirates. Secretary of the Navy Smith Thompson appointed Porter and appropriated $500,000 to cover costs for the 1,100 sailors and myriad vessels they would man. Stationed at Key West, off the southern tip of Florida, 42-year-old Porter commanded the largest peacetime collection of U.S. Navy ships that had ever been assembled.

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Military Officer - May 2007 Contents From the Editor From the President Your Views MOAA Directory Rapid Fire Washington Scene Financial Forum Ask the Doctor Chapter Activities Cover Story: Back Home Capt. David Porter, Pirate Hunter Where Valor Rests Emblems of Courage MOAA Member Services Pages of History Information Exchange Advertising Index Member Books MOAA Calendar MOAA Scholarship Donors Sounding Taps Encore

Military Officer - May 2007

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