so close and rapid that half the American officers were killed or
wounded. The most frightful confusion that can be imagined followed.
When Lawrence formed his men to board after the two vessels had fouled
the bugler could not be found, whereupon Captain Broke led his own men
upon the deck of the _Chesapeake_.

It was at this critical moment that Lawrence was fatally wounded and
carried below. He kept calling out his commands while in the cockpit to
fight harder and to keep the guns going. His last words, often
repeated in his delirium, were "_Don't give up the ship!_" and they
formed the motto of the American navy for many years afterward.

[Illustration: THE OFFICERS OF THE "CHESAPEAKE" OFFERING THEIR SWORDS.]

In the wild, savage fighting, where everything was so mixed that an
American lieutenant joined the British boarders under the impression
that they were his own men, Captain Broke was fearfully wounded, though
he afterward recovered. The _Chesapeake_, with a loss of 47 killed and
99 wounded to 24 killed and 59 wounded of the enemy, became the prize of
the _Shannon_.

CHAPTER XV.

David Porter--A Clever Feat--Numerous Captures by the _Essex_--Her
Remarkable Cruise in the Pacific--Her Final Capture.

David Porter was born in 1780 and died in 1842. He came from a seafaring
family, and, entering the navy at an early age, did gallant service in
the war with France and Tripoli. He was the father of David Dixon
Porter, who, on account of his brilliant record in the war for the
Union, was made vice-admiral in 1866 and admiral in 1870.

The elder Porter was appointed captain of the _Essex_ at the beginning
of the War of 1812, and, leaving New York, started on a cruise after the
British 36-gun _Thetis_, which was on her way to South America with a
large amount of specie aboard. She took several unimportant prizes, and,
failing to meet the _Thetis_, turned northward and on the night of July
10, 1812, sighted a fleet of merchantmen.

The night was cloudy and dark and Porter with a great deal of cleverness
pushed his way among the vessels without his identity being suspected.
He had drawn in his guns, hidden most of his men and done all he could
to give the _Essex_ the appearance of being an inoffensive merchantman.
His object was to learn whether the escort was too powerful to be
attacked. He opened conversation with the captain of one of the vessels,
who, unsuspicious of his identity, informed him that the