and was
drowned. Such incidents help us to descry, amid the smoke and slaughter
of that desperate encounter, the spirit of the gallant David Porter.
Never was the saying, "It's not the ships but the men in them," better
exemplified. To Porter was granted greatness in defeat, a lot that comes
to few.

For two hours he and his men endured such dreadful punishment as not
many ships have suffered. Again he attempted to work his way nearer the
enemy, until he had not enough men left unhurt to serve the guns or to
haul at the pitifully splintered spars. In the last extremity, Porter
made an effort to destroy his vessel and to save her people from
captivity by letting the _Essex_ drive ashore. A kedge anchor was let
go, and a dozen sailors tramped around the capstan while the chantey man
piped up a tune, but again fortune seemed against him for the hawser
snapped, and the wind began to blow the frigate into deeper water. What
happened then is best recalled in the simple words of Captain David
Porter himself:

I now sent for the officers of division to consult them and what
was my surprise to find only acting Lieutenant Stephen Decatur
M'Knight remaining.... I was informed that the cockpit, the
steerage, the wardroom, and the berth deck could contain no more
wounded, that the wounded were killed while the surgeons were
dressing them, and that if something was not speedily done to
prevent it, the ship would soon sink from the number of shot holes
in her bottom. On sending for the carpenter he informed me that all
his crew had been killed or wounded.

The enemy, from the impossibility of reaching him with our
carronades and the little apprehension that was excited by our
fire, which had now become much slackened, was enabled to take aim
at us as at a target; his 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 hope of saving her, and at twenty minutes after 6
P.M. I gave the painful order to strike the colors. Seventy-five
men including officers were all that remained of my whole crew
after the action, many of them severely wounded, some of whom have
since died.

The enemy still continued his fire and my brave, though unfortunate
companions were still falling about me. I directed an opposite gun
to be fired to show them we intended no further r