Under these circumstances, and to prevent bloodshed, Barron ordered the colors to be struck, at which the firing ceased. A boat came immediately from the Leopard to the Chesapeake in which was her first lieutenant, with a note from Captain Humphreys, sincerely regretting the course he felt himself under the necessity of pursuing in order to recover his men. The lieutenant anxiously inquired if there had been any one hurt, and appeared much pleased to learn that so little damage had been done, and then informed Commodore Barron that Captain Humphreys still insisted upon having his men, and that he had received orders not to return without them. Commodore Barron, to avoid further trouble, mustered his crew, the men were picked out and taken on board the Leopard, then the British fleet unmoored and went to sea, bound to Halifax.
Commodore Barron was tried by a Court-martial and found guilty of gross mismanagement in not having his ship ready for action. And also for hauling his colors down, was suspended from the U. S. Naval service for a number of years, afterwards reinstated, and killed Commodore Decatur in a duel. We now return to Halifax again. " Down with the Yankees \" was the prevailing cry now among men and boys. The fact of making a Yankee frigate haul her colors down, and having her crew mustered by a British lieutenant, and three deserters taken out, was a " consummation devoutly to be wished for." The independence of the U. S. was now to be forever annihilated. The American Stars and Stripes would soon be hanging among the trophies of St.
Pauls, and the Yankee rebels would ere long be made to receive their old shackles again. This was the bombastic grog-shop talk of Halifax. A gang of rowdy boys attacked me one morning on my return from market, and were determined to whip me because I was a Yankee. So I laid down my market basket and looking them in the face, said, "whip away my good fellows, I suppose you want another Chesapeake victory, there are plenty of you to flog one, only don't steed my meaty They went oft', doing nothing more than giving me a few hearty curses. A Court-martial was immediately convened on board the Chichester, for the trial of the three deserters. The result of which was, that Jenkin Ratford was to be hanged at the yard-arm, and the other two to be whipped through the fleet.
As we lay near the ships of war I had a good opportunity of seeing both sentences carried into execution, those who were to be whipped were to receive 500 lashes each. Kind reader, probably you have never seen a punishment of. this kind inflicted, and 1 hope you never will. We read with horror, accounts that have come to us from the inquisitions of Europe. Our blood has fairly chilled in our veins, when we have read of the rack, and of being broken on the wheel, and the process of roasting over a slow lire. All this has been done through ignorance and superstition, and in some inquisitorial dungeon, as though the dark hellish scenes were too dreadful for the sun to look upon!
But whipping a man through the fleet throws that entirely in the shade; for ship again, placed under the doctor's charge until he gets strong enouoji to receive the balance. There have been cases however, where tiie victim has died under the punishment; nevertheless, the number of lashes must be given upon the back of the corpse! This, an old English man-of-wars-man assured me he had seen. As soon as the boat containing the prisoner has arrived along-side the admiral's ship, all hands are called to witness punishment, which they do by manning the rigging and yards. The first lieutenant then goes down into the boat, and reads the sentence of the Court-marshal, also that clause in the articles of war relating to desertion; during the time of this reading, every head is uncovered and a death-like stillness prevails.
Previously, the boatswain of each ship has been directed to have his cats, (cat-o-nine tails) in readiness. The cat, is a whip, with a short handle about fourteen inches long, handsomely covered with cloth, to the end of which are nine pieces of small cord about the size of cod line, and about a yard long; at the end of each line are two or three knots, and every stroke with this whip, cuts through the skin quite into the flesh, and the boatswain's mate, who applies it, is commonlv an athletic fellow, and is obliged to give his utmost strength at every blow, and generally a fresh boatswain's mate takes the cat at the end of each dozen.