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Comparative Bone
Identification
Human Subadult to Nonhuman

Diane L. France

Boca Raton London New York

CRC Press is an imprint of the

Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
CRC Press
Taylor & Francis Group
6000 Broken Sound Parkway NW, Suite 300
Boca Raton, FL 33487-2742
© 2017 by Diane L. France
CRC Press is an imprint of Taylor & Francis Group, an Informa business

No claim to original U.S. Government works

Printed on acid-free paper

Version Date: 20160815

International Standard Book Number-13: 978-1-4398-2043-8 (Hardback)

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 For my father

David W. France, Jr., M.D.

1927–2015

who encouraged my curiosity about the natural world

at a very young age.

v
 Contents

Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix

Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi

Part I Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Part II Major Bones of the Bodies of Different Animals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Cranium . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Mandible . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Pectoral Girdle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Sternum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Ribs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
Vertebrae . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Ossa Coxae . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
Humerus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
Radius . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297
Ulna . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317
Hand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 339
Femur . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 355
Tibia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 387
Fibula . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 417
Foot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 429

Part III Skeletons Arranged by Species . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 457

Human Subadult . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 461
Birds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 609
Reptiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 713
Marine Mammals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 759
Fish . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 787
Frog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 819

References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 827

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 831

vii
 Preface

This book is the third volume in the Human and Nonhuman Bone Identification books . The first vol-
ume, Human and Nonhuman Bone Identification: A Color Atlas, primarily compared adult human to
nonhuman mammal species . The second book, Human and Nonhuman Bone Identification: A Concise
Field Guide, was a shorter version of the first volume, but also included a short section on bird skeletons .
This book will show some human subadult skeletons as well as a more in-depth section on birds plus
sections on four reptiles (alligator, crocodile lizard [or crocodile monitor lizard], iguana and snapping
turtle), three marine mammals (sea otter, sea lion, and harbour porpoise), three fish (white sturgeon,
pacific cod, and three individuals of a rock fish species), and a small bit of information about a frog .
This book, like the original books, is intended to give law enforcement, medicolegal death investiga-
tors, forensic anthropologists, and even the general public examples of each of the taxonomic classes
listed above . Very little of the introductory information about human and nonhuman mammal skeletons
will be repeated in this volume . This is not an exhaustive guide to human or nonhuman bones . Any
of these species could be presented in a book by itself, and should not be considered a complete repre-
sentation of their class of animals . There is great variation among mammals, birds, reptiles, and fish,
and to talk about a bird skeleton should not imply that we know everything about all bird skeletons .
The penguin, for example, is not an accurate representation of all of the bones of the raptors, nor is the
iguana an accurate representation of all of the bones of a tortoise (or even of all iguana species) . Snakes
are not included in this book, as they are primarily a head with a long string of vertebrae and ribs, none
of which is likely to be mistaken for a human .
This book is presented in three major sections:

I . Introduction, which includes basic terminology in anatomy and osteology, plus growth and
development differences among mammals, birds, reptiles, and the frog . This section also
shows some of the nonhuman bones that are most easily mistaken for humans (including sub-
adult humans) .
II . Major Bones of the Bodies of Different Animals (grouped by the location in the skeleton) .
III . Skeletons Grouped by Species .

As with the previous volumes, this book is not intended to replace the opinion of an experienced
professional!

All scales in this book are in millimeters .

ix
 Acknowledgments

In the years that it has taken to compile this book (and the previous two volumes), many people have
generously given me their time and trusted me with irreplaceable collections .
Dennis Van Gerven was a great professor and mentor to me as a student, and he still supports and
encourages me today . Thank you, Dennis!
As always, Jay Villemarette, the owner of Skulls Unlimited International, Inc . in Moore, Oklahoma,
and his family and associates were welcoming and kind beyond any level that I deserve . Their Museum
of Osteology in Moore (and soon to be in Orlando, Florida) is amazing and is worth a trip by itself! He
should be applauded for showing the public skeletons of a very wide variety of different animals from
around the world and educating the public about the evolution and the preservation of species .
Becky Wigen at the University of Victoria in Victoria, British Columbia not only loaned me the keys
to their collections room, she and her colleagues also treated me like family . Many of the photographs
in this book are of the skeletons in their collections .
Dave Hunt at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History has always offered his help and access to
skeletons, and I am most grateful . You are a great friend, Bucko .
Becky Masterman, Jill Jurgensen and Mark Listewnik from CRC Press/Taylor & Francis Group
are fabulous to work with . Congratulations on your retirement, Becky, and continued success in your
novels! I am tremendously grateful to Jill and Mark for their patience, understanding, good humor, and
dedication to giving authors the quality we want in our books . They are always quick to answer emails
and I thoroughly enjoy working with them!
My husband, Art Abplanalp, is always supportive when I am writing, and in every aspect of our lives
together . I look forward to a long and loving future with him (with grandchildren!) .
With all of this help and support, this volume should be absolutely perfect! To the extent that it is not,
the fault is entirely my own .

xi
 Part I
Introduction

1
Human and Nonhuman Bone Identification

Cranium
Mandible
Hyoid
Cervical Vert.
Clavicle
Sternum
Scapula
Ribs
Humerus
Thoracic Vert.
Lumbar Vertebrae
Radius
Ulna
Ossa coxae
Sacrum
Coccygeal Vert.
Carpals
Metacarpals
Phalanges

Femur

Patella

Tibia
Fibula

Tarsals

Metatarsals
Phalanges

Figure 1 Human skeleton.

2
3
Introduction

Figure 2 Dog skeleton.

Human and Nonhuman Bone Identification

Figure 3 Bird Skeleton.

4
5
Figure 4 Crocodile.
6
Thoracic vertebrae Lumbar vertebrae
Cervical vertebrae
Scapula

Cranium
Human and Nonhuman Bone Identification

Hyoid
Caudal vertebrae
Humerus
Mandible Ribs
Radius
Ulna Sternum
Carpals
Metacarpals Phalanges

Figure 5 Porpoise.
 Introduction

Sacral vertebra

Urostyle
Frontoparietal
Supra scapula
Nasal
Ilium
Premaxilla
Ischium
Scapula

Pubis
Maxilla Femur
Humerus

Radio-ulna

Carpals

Metacarpals
Carpals
Tibiofibula

Quadratojugal
Premaxilla

Maxillaa
Talus/Astragalus Calcaneum
Frontoparietal
Sphenethmoid
Frontoparietal
Metacarpals
Squamosal

Quadrate Phalanges

Pterygoid Prootic

Figure 6 Frog.

7
Human and Nonhuman Bone Identification

Frontal Parietal

Nasal
Exoccipital

Premaxilla

Maxilla Quadrate
lum
percu
P reo

Dentary Angular

Supraoccipital

Exoccipital

Basioccipital

Figure 7 Fish Skull.

8
 Introduction

Planes of the Body

Caudal Cranial

Dorsal
Ventral

Note: “Posterior” humans is analo-

gous to “dorsal” in quadrupeds and
“anterior” in humans is analogous to
ventral in quadrupeds.

Medial
Lateral

Anterior Posterior

Proximal

Midsagittal
Plane

Figure 8 Planes of the Body.

9
Human and Nonhuman Bone Identification

Anatomical Terminology

Anatomical Position: body with arms by side, palms forward

Anterior: in front (similar to ventral)
Appendicular: the skeleton of the limbs
Axial: the skeleton of the head and trunk
Caudal: toward the tail
Coronal plane: parallel to the coronal suture
Cranial: toward the head
Distal: away from trunk of body along a limb
Dorsal: in back (similar to posterior)
External: outside of
Inferior: lower
Internal: inside of
Lateral: perpendicularly away from midsagittal plane
Longitudinal: coursing or placed lengthwise
Medial: perpendicularly toward the midsagittal plane
Posterior: behind, to the back (similar to dorsal)
Pronation: rotation of the hand and forearm so that the palm faces dorsally or toward the body
Proximal: toward the trunk of the body along a limb
Sagittal Section: any section of the body parallel to the sagittal suture of the cranium
Superficial: near the surface
Superior: above, top
Supination: turning the palm of the hand anteriorly
Transverse: any crosswise section
Ventral: in front (similar to anterior)
Vertex: top, highest point

In mouth:
Buccal: toward the cheek
Distal: at greatest distance from the anterior midline of the mouth
Labial: toward the lips
Lingual: toward the tongue
Mesial: toward the anterior midline of the mouth
Occlusal: the chewing surface of the teeth

10
 Introduction

Features of Bone

Feature (plural): Definition:

Cavity (cavities): an open area

Condyle (condyles): rounded process at the point of articulation
with another bone
Crest (crests): a projecting ridge
Diaphysis (diaphyses): the shaft of bone
Epiphysis (epiphyses): a process of bone initially attached to another
piece of bone by cartilage, and usually later
consolidated with it by bone
Fontanelle (fontanelles): membranous space between cranial bones in fetal life and in
fancy
Foramen (foramina): a hole or opening
Fossa (fossae): a pit, depression or cavity
Meatus (meatuses): a canal
Process (processes): any outgrowth or prominence of bone
Sinus (sinuses): bone cavity lined with mucus membrane
Suture (sutures): areas of articulation between cranial bones
Torus (tori): an elevation or prominence
Tubercle (tubercles): a small, knob-like projection on bone
Tuberosity (tuberosities): a large, rough eminence or projection on bone

11
Human and Nonhuman Bone Identification

Introduction

Form follows function. The morphology of skeletal elements may give important clues about how those
elements were used in the animal’s life.

The sentences above describe what is arguably the most important point when differentiating between
human and nonhuman bones. A skeleton that has evolved for flying will be lightweight while an animal
that grazes will have heavier, more solid bones. Fish bones are often complex and translucent, while
those of reptiles that continue to grow long into adulthood have secondary growth centers (epiphyses)
that remain cartilaginous, allowing the primary center of bone growth (diaphysis) to expand throughout
life.
As with mammals, complete skulls are not usually a problem in determining forensic significance.
Intact skulls are not usually presented to a forensic anthropologist because the medical examiner, law
enforcement, and even the general public can not only determine that it is not human, they will often
keep it for themselves without contacting an expert. The shape of the skull reflects a number of things
about an animal’s lifestyle, include the extent to which an animal relies of vision, smell, and hearing.
It also reflects the size of the brain, diet, and in some animals, it reflects aerodynamic or aquadynamic
qualities (in flying or swimming birds, for example). Bird skulls (even from large birds) are thinner
than any human (even a young infant), and they usually only have one occipital condyle located in the
anterior midline of the foramen magnum (Figure 9). A few birds have an accessory condyle on the
opposite side of the foramen magnum. Reptiles, too, have only one occipital condyle. Birds and reptiles
also share sclerotic ossicles (Figure 10), which consist of many bony plates, and help support the eyes.
They are different enough in size and shape that they can sometimes be used for species identification
(Kaiser, 2007), although they are so fragile and small that they are unlikely to be discovered in a foren-
sic situation.

Figure 9 Cranium of a Great Horned Owl. Arrow points

to occipital condyle. Figure 10 Sclerotic ossicles of a turkey.

12
 Introduction

Pubis

Ilium

Ischium
Chevron

Figure 11 Turkey synsacrum. Figure 12 Alligator chevron.

Figure 13 Turkey ribs. Arrow Figure 14 Alligator ribs with

points to uncinate process. two vertebral articular processes. Figure 15 Frog. Arrow points to verte-
bral transverse processes.

The vertebrae in all vertebrates are divided into cervical, thoracic, lumbar, sacral and caudal,
although the number in each section is reduced, expanded, or the sections are even combined, as in the
synsacrum (Figure 11) in birds, which consists of the sacral vertebrae and three lumbar and the first six
caudal vertebrae. Also, the sacrum of many reptiles consists of only two sacral vertebrae.
Mammals have a single neural arch supporting the spinal cord, but birds and reptiles often have a
second neural arch on the ventral side of the body, called a chevron, in most of the caudal vertebrae (see
Figure 12) (Romer 1997).
In mammals, part of the definition of thoracic vertebrae is that they carry ribs, and most of the ribs
connect with the sternum (except the “floating ribs”). Mammals have neither cervical nor lumbar ribs,
but many species of reptiles and birds have cervical, thoracic, lumbar, and even sometimes caudal ribs
on the first few caudal vertebrae (Rome 1997, Kaiser 2007). Bird ribs are in two parts: the dorsal rib
and the vertebral rib that meet about halfway. The dorsal ribs articulate with the vertebrae and have an
extra process called the uncinate process (Figure 13), which overlaps the next rib in the caudal direc-
tion (Kaiser 2007). The ventral ribs articulate with the sternum. Most reptiles have simple ribs with one
“head” that articulates with the vertebra, and these could be mistaken for human ribs. Crocodiles and
alligators have ribs with two articular processes (Figure 14) (Zug et al. 2001, Vitt and Caldwell 2009).
Reptiles also have gastralia, which are sometimes called abdominal ribs (Figure 4). Interestingly, frogs
have no ribs at all — just elongated rib transverse processes (Figure 15).

13
Human and Nonhuman Bone Identification

Figures 16 and 17 Floating (12th) rib of a human (left) and chicken scapula (right). Arrow points to glenoid fossa in
scapula.

Figures 18 and 19 Edentulous mandible of a human (left) and swan furculum (right).

Figure 20 Cassowary sternum (anterior) with no keel. Figure 21 Goose sternum with prominent keel.

While the scapulae of mammals are usually roughly triangular or elongated triangular in shape, the
scapula in birds is actually two separate bones: the scapula blade and the coracoid. It is easy to mis-
take the bird scapula blade for a rib and mistake the glenoid fossa on that blade for a point of vertebral
articulation (Figures 16 and 17). The alligator scapula also consists of a scapula and a separate coracoid
process, although those are unlikely to be mistaken for a rib.

14
 Introduction

Figures 22 and 23 Clavicle of a 20-year old human (left) compared to a scavenged turkey humerus (right).

Figure 24 Complete turkey humerus.

Ilium
Pubis

Ischium
Ischium
Ilium

Pubis

Figure 25 Cassowary pelvic girdle. Figure 26 Iguana pelvic girdle.

The clavicle maintains the distance between the sternum and scapula and is present in humans, a few
other mammals, and in birds. In birds the clavicle is called the furculum and is recognized in chickens
and turkeys as the wishbone. The furculum of large birds might be mistaken for an edentulous human
mandible (Figures 18 and 19). The humerus of birds may be mistaken for a human clavicle, particularly
if it has been partially scavenged as in Figures 22–24). Many reptiles have a clavicle, but it is absent in
the crocodilians.
The sternum is present in mammals and reptiles, but it is particularly prominent in birds. Birds that
fly and birds, such as the penguin that use their wings for swimming, have a sternum with a prominent
keel for attachment of the pectoral muscles, while flightless birds, such as the ostrich, emu, and cas-
sowary, have a large sternum without a keel (Figures 20 and 21).
The pelvic girdle consisting of the ilium, ischium and pubis is easily recognizable in mammals, but
has a very different morphology in birds and reptiles. The pelvic girdle of birds is also very distinctive
(Figure 25), but might be mistaken for the skull of a strange animal (by someone with an active imagi-
nation). As mentioned above, the sacrum consists of a few lumbar and caudal vertebrae fused to the
sacral vertebrae. The elements of the reptile pelvic girdle are not as easily recognized, unless they are
discovered as a pelvic girdle unit with the sacrum (two sacral vertebrae) attached. Even then, it is easy
to mistake the individual bones (Figure 26).

15
Human and Nonhuman Bone Identification

Figure 27 Bear (left) Figures 28 and 29 Proximal phalanx, Figures 30 and 31 Proximal aspect of proximal
and human metacarpals. superior and inferior, of turkey. phalanx of turkey (left) and human (right).
Ridge is circled.

Figures 32–35 Alligator metatarsal #2 superior, Figures 36 and 37 Human hand phalanges, superior (left) and
medial, inferior. inferior (right).

Figure 38 Alligator metatarsals #2 and #1, distal. Figure 39 Human phalanges, distal.

16
Exploring the Variety of Random
Documents with Different Content
 “My other conditions are,” continued Fontrailles, “that you make
no complaint of my search this morning—that you tell his eminence,
should you chance to meet him, that by advising Monsieur De Pontis
to surrender a portion to me, who, you are aware, had, even before
the Spaniard’s death, asked the future droit of the cardinal, that you
secured thereby the remainder to your friend.”
“Well! I do not object to building a bridge for Monseigneur’s
retreat,” observed the advocate.
“It would be ridiculous toward one of your profession, and, above
all, age, to offer the satisfaction accorded to a gentleman who has
received violence at the hands of another,” said the count; “I,
therefore, beg pardon of Monsieur Giraud for the same.”
The advocate bowed. It were, perhaps, better, he said, to allow it
to pass thus, though the count must be aware that he had shown no
want of courage. Fontrailles assented, remarking that he believed
their business was now concluded—at least the preliminaries—and
that he would call on the advocate on the morrow, when he hoped
everything would be prepared.
Giraud was not sorry to see the exterior of the Hôtel De
Fontrailles. The count had, however, made better terms for himself
than he thought to have granted—still, it was true, as Fontrailles
remarked, that, whatever became of him, through the cardinal
listening to the tale of Pedro Olivera, De Pontis would be none the
richer. The pride of Richelieu was touched by the veteran obtaining
the sign-manual without his knowledge or intervention, and it was
very probable that, if Fontrailles were disgraced, the droit d’aubaine
would be destined to another favorite.
Giraud had foreseen this difficulty from the commencement, yet it
was hard to part with so many thousand livres, especially to one who
had almost choked him. On second consideration, the advocate
thought it wiser to withhold this portion of the adventure from De
Pontis and his daughter—the blood of the militaire would rise at the
insult and imposition of hands offered to a kinsman, and fresh
difficulties, perhaps, be thrown in the way of what was, after all, a
very peaceful and happy termination of the affairs of the old soldier.
The count had confessed the injury, and sued for pardon, and what
more could he do? With this consolation, the advocate quieted
himself.
The glad news was imparted to Marguerite that evening, and
when the houblieur rang his bell, and was admitted, the maiden was
more gracious than on the former occasion—the youth more
thoughtful. As might be expected, from the previous intimacy shown
relative to the secret affairs of the Palais Cardinal, its inmates and
visiters, much of what had occurred was already known to the youth
—the remainder he heard from the lips of Marguerite. She was
charged by Giraud to reclaim the packet; it would be wanted on the
morrow. That same night it was placed in her hands, the seal
unbroken, and, before she retired to rest, it was again in the keeping
of the zealous, faithful advocate.
Giraud was seated in his office. A night’s repose had calmed his
spirits, refreshed the wearied frame. Fontrailles had kept the
appointment, bringing an authenticated relinquishment of the suit of
Pedro Olivera—also a notification from the procureur général that he
had abandoned the prosecution of the decree of sequestration—and,
lastly, a duplicate of Richelieu’s order to the warden of the
Conciergerie to release the Sieur De Pontis. The count claimed and
received satisfaction on the conditions insisted on—reference to the
prisoner was not necessary, as Giraud had, on the committal of De
Pontis, received a legal power to act as representative, and affix by
procuration his signature to any act deemed necessary. As the
cardinal’s seal was removed from the ware-rooms, and attachment
withdrawn from the banker where the moneys of the deceased were
lodged, there was no impediment to the prompt payment of the
count’s subsidy—a matter, seemingly, of the utmost importance to
Monseigneur.
Giraud, as we have said, was seated in his office, and alone. But
presently there arrived visiters—the Sieur De Pontis, and the fair
heroine, Marguerite. Congratulations and thanks exhausted,
business recited and discussed, there ensued a pause—their hearts
were full.
“There are but three here,” said Giraud, looking archly at
Marguerite, “I should wish to see a fourth. There is a friend,
Monsieur De Pontis, who has wonderfully aided our endeavors for
your release, and to whom we owe many thanks. Shall we never see
the unknown’s face?”
“Marguerite has my sanction to introduce him to Monsieur Giraud
whenever she pleases,” said the veteran.
“Hah! then I have been forestalled in her confidence,” cried the
advocate, “but I did not deserve the neglect!”
The day subsequent to the liberation of De Pontis, Louis was
promenading alone his customary path in the garden of the Tuileries.
The old soldier presented himself—he bent his knee to majesty.
“Rise, my good friend,” said the monarch, “I hear you have been
better served than Louis could have wrought for you, though he had
not forgotten his word, or his old servant.”
After a few remarks, the king complimented him on the
perseverance and heroism of Marguerite adding that she was
deserving of all honor.
“With your majesty’s permission, I believe I am about to marry
her,” remarked De Pontis.
“To whom? I hope to a subject of mine!” exclaimed the monarch.
“François De Romainville, if it please your majesty,” replied the
veteran.
“I know the youth,” said Louis, “our cardinal’s page, of good
lineage, though accounted wild and reckless—the cardinal
complains of his habits, but loves the page’s intelligence and
capacity. We must see what can be done for this youth, also for
Monsieur Giraud when the opportunity offers.”
He might have added, “when the cardinal permits,” thought the
veteran, with a sigh.
“For yourself, De Pontis,” continued the royal personage, “I hope
all will go well in future.”
“I intend to put it out of fortune’s power to do me further harm,”
answered the militaire—“your majesty’s late bounty I shall settle on
my daughter and her husband; for, though I hope a true man in the
tented field, yet I do believe that, whether from my own fault, or an
unlucky destiny, I should lose, or mismanage the fairest estate in
your realm.”
At that moment, the cardinal and his suite were seen in the
distance—the countenance of Louis fell, and De Pontis taking hasty
leave—much to the royal satisfaction—glided through a side-walk.
 MY MOTHER—A DREAM.
———
BY MRS. BALMANNO.
———

Oh mother! sacred! dear! in dreams of thee,

I sat, again a child, beside thy knee,
Nestling amidst thy robe delightedly!
And all was silent in the sunny room,
Save bees that humm’d o’er honeysuckle bloom.

I gazed upon thy face, so mild, so fair,

I heard thy holy voice arise in prayer;
Oh mother! mother! thou thyself wert there!
Thou, by the placid brow, the thoughtful eye,
The clasping hand, the voice of melody.

I clung around thy neck—thy tears fell fast,

Like rain in summer, yet the sorrow past;
And smiles, more beautiful than e’en the last,
Play’d on thy lip, dear mother! such it wore
To bless our early home in days of yore.

Then wild and grand arose my native hills⁠—

I heard the leaping torrents, and the thrills
Of birds that hymn the sun; the charm that fills
Old Haddon’s vales, and haunts its river side⁠—
What time the Fays pluck king-cups by its tide.
Methought ’twas hawthorn time—the jolly May⁠—
For o’er far plains bright figures seemed to stray,
Gath’ring the buds, and calling me away!
I waked, but ah! to weep—no eye of thine,
Sweet mother! beam’d its gentle light on mine.
 BAINBRIDGE.
———
BY J. FENIMORE COOPER, AUTHOR OF “THE SPY,” “THE PIONEERS,” ETC.
———

Dr. Harris, in his “Life and Services” of this distinguished officer,

says that “The ancestor of Commodore Bainbridge, who, in the year
1600, settled in the province of New Jersey, was the son of Sir
Arthur Bainbridge, of Durham county, England.” As no portion of the
old United States was settled as early as 1600, and the province of
New Jersey, in particular, was organized only about the middle of the
seventeenth century, the date, in this instance, is an oversight, or a
misprint; though the account of the ancestor is probably accurate.
The family of the late Commodore Bainbridge was of respectable
standing, beyond a question, both in the colony and state of New
Jersey, and its connections were principally among persons of the
higher classes of society. His father was a physician of local
eminence, in the early part of his life, who removed to New York
about the commencement of the Revolution, where he left a fair
professional and personal reputation.
The fourth son of Dr. Bainbridge was William, the subject of our
memoir. He was born at Princeton, New Jersey, then the residence
of his father, May 7th, 1774. His birth must have occurred but a short
time before the removal of the family to New York. The maiden name
of Mrs. Bainbridge, the mother of William, was Taylor; a lady of
Monmouth county, in the same colony; and her father, a man of
considerable estate, undertook to superintend the education of the
child.
Young Bainbridge was of an athletic manly frame, and early
showed a bold spirit, and a love of enterprise. This temperament was
likely to interfere with studies directed toward a liberal education,
and, at the early age of fifteen, his importunities prevailed on his
friends to allow him to go to sea. This must have been about the time
when the present form of government went first into operation, and
the trade and navigation of the country began to revive. In that day
the republic had no marine; the old Alliance frigate, the favorite ship
of the Revolution, then sailing out of the port at which young
Bainbridge first embarked, as an Indiaman.
Philadelphia, for many years after the peace of 1783, produced
the best seamen of America. Other ports, doubtless, had as hardy
and as adventurous mariners, but the nicety of the art was better
taught and practiced on the Delaware than in any other portion of the
country. This advantage was thought to be owing to the length of the
river and bay, which required more elaborate evolutions to take a
ship successfully through, than ports that lay contiguous to the sea.
The same superiority has long been claimed for London, and for the
same reason, each place having a long and intricate navigation,
among shoals, and in a tide’s way, before its wharves can be
reached. The comparative decline of the navigation of these two
towns is to be attributed to the very difficulties which made expert
seamen, though the vast amount of supplies required by the English
capital, for its own consumption, causes great bodies of shipping still
to frequent the Thames. It is also probable that the superiority
formerly claimed for the seamen of these two towns, was in part
owing to the circumstances that, being the capitals of their respective
countries, they were then in advance of other ports, both as to the
arts, generally, and as to the wealth necessary to exhibit them.
Young Bainbridge, consequently, enjoyed the advantage of being
trained, as a seaman, in what was then the highest American school.
Singularly handsome and prepossessing in his appearance, of a
vigorous, and commanding frame, with the foundation of a good
education, all aided by respectable connections, he was made an
officer in the third year of his service. When eighteen, he sailed as
chief mate of a ship in the Dutch trade, and on his first voyage, in
this capacity, he recovered the vessel from the hands of mutineers,
by his personal intrepidity, and physical activity. In the following year,
when barely nineteen, the owners gave him command of the same
ship. From this time down to the period of his joining the navy,
Bainbridge continued in command of different merchant vessels, all
of which were employed in the European trade, which was then
carried on, by this country, in the height and excitement of the war
that succeeded the French revolution.
Occasions were not wanting, by which Bainbridge could prove his
dauntless resolution, even in command of a peaceful and slightly
armed merchantman. In 1796, whilst in command of the Hope, of
Philadelphia, he was lying in the Garonne, and was hailed by
another American to come and aid in quelling a mutiny. This he did
in person; though his life had nearly been the sacrifice, owing to an
explosion of gunpowder. The same season, while shaping his course
for one of the West India islands, the Hope was attacked by a small
British privateer, of eight guns and thirty men, being herself armed
with four nines, and having a crew of only eleven souls before the
mast—an equipment then permitted, by the laws, for the purposes of
defence only. The privateer commenced the engagement without
showing any colors; but, receiving a broadside from the Hope, she
hoisted English, in the expectation of intimidating her antagonist. In
this, however, the assailant was mistaken; Bainbridge, who had his
colors flying from the first, continued his fire until he actually
compelled the privateer to lower her flag. The latter was much cut
up, and lost several men. The Hope escaped with but little injury.
Although he had compelled his assailant to submit, it would not have
been legal for Bainbridge to take possession of the prize. He even
declined boarding her, most probably keeping in view the feebleness
of his own complement; but, hailing the privateer, he told her
commander to go to his employers and let them know they must
send some one else to capture the Hope if they had occasion for that
ship. It was probably owing to this little affair, as well as to his
general standing as a ship-master, that Bainbridge subsequently
entered the navy with the rank he obtained.
Not long after the action with the privateer, while homeward
bound again, a man was impressed from Bainbridge’s ship, by an
English cruiser. The boarding officer commenced by taking the first
mate, on account of his name, Allen M’Kinsey, insisting that the man
must be a Scotchman! This singular species of logic was often
applied on such occasions, even historians of a later day claiming
such men as M’Donough and Conner, on the supposition that they
must be Irish, from their family appellations. Mr. M’Kinsey, who was a
native Philadelphian, on a hint from Bainbridge, armed himself, and
refused to quit his own ship; whereupon the English lieutenant
seized a foremast hand and bore him off, in spite of his protestations
of being an American, and the evidence of his commander.
Bainbridge was indignant at this outrage—then, however, of almost
daily occurrence on the high seas—and, finding his own
remonstrances disregarded, he solemnly assured the boarding
officer that, if he fell in with an English vessel, of a force that would
allow of such a retaliation, he would take a man out of her to supply
the place of the seaman who was then carried away. This threat was
treated with contempt, but it was put in execution within a week;
Bainbridge actually seizing a man on board an English merchant-
man, and that, too, of a force quite equal to his own, and carrying
him into an American port. The ship which impressed the man
belonging to the Hope, was the Indefatigable, Sir Edward Pellew.
All these little affairs contributed to give Bainbridge a merited
reputation for spirit; for, however illegal may have been his course in
impressing the Englishman, the sailor himself was quite content to
receive higher wages, and there was a natural justice in the measure
that looked down the policy of nations and the provisions of law.
Shortly after this incident the aggressions of France induced the
establishment of the present navy, and the government, after
employing all the old officers of the Revolution who remained, and
who were fit for service, was compelled to go into the mercantile
marine to find men to fill the subordinate grades. The merchant
service of America has ever been relatively much superior to that of
most other countries. This has been owing, in part, to the greater
diffusion of education; in part, to the character of the institutions,
which throws no discredit around any reputable pursuit; and in part,
to the circumstance that the military marine has not been large
enough to give employment to all of the maritime enterprise and
spirit of the nation. Owing to these united causes, the government of
1798 had much less difficulty in finding proper persons to put into its
infant navy, than might have been anticipated; although it must be
allowed that some of the selections, as usual, betrayed the influence
of undue recommendations, as well as of too partial friendships.
 The navy offering a field exactly suited to the ambition and
character of Bainbridge, he eagerly sought service in it, on his return
from a voyage to Europe; his arrival occurring a short time after the
first appointments had been made. The third vessel which got to sea,
under the new armament, was the Delaware 20, Capt. Stephen
Decatur, the father of the illustrious officer of the same name; and
this vessel, a few days out, had captured Le Croyable 14, a French
privateer that she found cruising in the American waters. Le
Croyable was condemned, and purchased by the navy department;
being immediately equipped for a cruiser, under the name of the
Retaliation. To this vessel Bainbridge was appointed, with the
commission of lieutenant commandant; a rank that was
subsequently and unwisely dropped; as the greater the number of
gradations in a military service, while they are kept within the limits of
practical necessity, the greater is the incentive for exertion, the more
frequent the promotions, and the higher the discipline. First
lieutenants, lieutenants commandant, exist, and must exist in fact, in
every marine; and it is throwing away the honorable inducement of
promotion, as well as some of the influence of a commission, not to
have the rank while we have the duties. It would be better for the
navy did the station of first lieutenant, or lieutenant commandant,
now exist, those who held the commissions furnishing officers to
command the smallest class of vessels, and the executive officers of
ships of the line and frigates.
The Retaliation sailed for the West India station, in September,
1798. While cruising off Guadaloupe, the following November, the
Montezuma, sloop of war, Capt. Murray, and the brig Norfolk, Capt.
Williams, in company, three sail were made in the eastern board,
that were supposed to be English; and two more strangers
appearing to the westward, Capt. Murray, who was the senior officer,
made sail for the latter, taking the Norfolk with him; while the
Retaliation was directed to examine the vessels to the eastward.
This separated the consorts, which parted on nearly opposite tacks.
Unfortunately two of the vessels to the eastward proved to be French
frigates, le Volontier 36, Capt. St. Laurent, and l’Insurgente 32, Capt.
Barreault. The first of these ships carried 44 guns, French eighteens,
and the latter 40, French twelves. L’Insurgente was one of the fastest
ships that floated, and, getting the Retaliation under her guns,
Bainbridge was compelled to strike, as resistance would have been
madness.
The prisoner was taken on board le Volontier, the two frigates
immediately making sail in chase of the Montezuma and Norfolk.
L’Insurgente again out-stripped her consort, and was soon a long
distance ahead of her. Capt. St. Laurent was the senior officer, and,
the Montezuma being a ship of some size, he felt an uneasiness at
permitting the Insurgente to engage two adversaries, of whose force
he was ignorant, unsupported. In this uncertainty, he determined to
inquire the force of the American vessels of his prisoner. Bainbridge
answered coolly that the ship was a vessel of 28 long twelves, and
the brig a vessel of 20 long nines. This was nearly, if not quite,
doubling the force of the two American cruisers, and it induced the
French commodore to show a signal of recall to his consort. Capt.
Barreault, an exceedingly spirited officer, joined his commander in a
very ill humor, informing his superior that he was on the point of
capturing both the chases, when he was so inopportunely recalled.
This induced an explanation, when the ruse practiced by Bainbridge
was exposed. In the moment of disappointment, the French officers
felt much irritated, but, appreciating the conduct of their prisoner
more justly, they soon recovered their good humor, and manifested
no further displeasure.
The Retaliation and her crew were carried into Basseterre. On
board the Volontier was Gen. Desfourneaux, who was sent out to
supersede Victor Hughes in his government. This functionary was
very diplomatic, and he entered into a negotiation with Bainbridge of
a somewhat equivocal character, leaving it a matter of doubt whether
an exchange of prisoners, an arrangement of the main difficulties
between the two countries, or a secret trade with his own island, and
for his own particular benefit, was his real object. Ill treatment to the
crew of the Retaliation followed; whether by accident or design is not
known; though the latter has been suspected. It will be remembered
that no war had been declared by either country, and that the
captures by the Americans were purely retaliatory, and made in self-
defence. Gen. Desfourneaux profited by this circumstance to effect
his purposes, affecting not to consider the officers and people of the
Retaliation as prisoners at all. To this Bainbridge answered that he
regarded himself, and his late crew, not only as prisoners of war, but
as ill-treated prisoners, and that his powers now extended no farther
than to treat of an exchange. After a protracted negotiation,
Bainbridge and his crew were placed in possession of the Retaliation
again, all the other American prisoners in Guadaloupe were put on
board a cartel, and the two vessels were ordered for America.
Accompanying the Americans, went a French gentleman, ostensibly
charged with the exchange; but who was believed to have been a
secret diplomatic agent of the French government.
The conduct of Bainbridge, throughout this rude initiation into the
public service, was approved by the government, and he was
immediately promoted to the rank of master commandant, and given
the Norfolk 18, the brig he had saved from capture by his address. In
this vessel he joined the squadron under Com. Truxtun, who was
cruising in the vicinity of St. Kitts. While on that station, the Norfolk
fell in with and chased a heavy three-masted schooner, of which she
was on the point of getting alongside, when both topmasts were lost
by carrying sail, and the enemy escaped. The brig went into St. Kitts
to repair damages, and here she collected a convoy of more than a
hundred sail, bound home. Bainbridge performed a neat and delicate
evolution, while in charge of this large trust. The convoy fell in with
an enemy’s frigate, when a signal was thrown out for the vessels to
disperse. The Norfolk occupied the frigate, and induced her to
chase, taking care to lead her off from the merchantmen. That night
the brig gave her enemy the slip, and made sail on her course,
overtaking and collecting the whole fleet the following day. It is said
not a single vessel, out of one hundred and nineteen sail, failed of
the rendezvous!
It was August, 1799, before the Norfolk returned to New York.
Here Bainbridge found that no less than five lieutenants had been
made captains, passing the grades of commanders and lieutenants
commandant altogether. This irregularity could only have occurred in
an infant service, though it was of material importance to a young
officer in after life. Among the gentlemen thus promoted, were Capts.
Rodgers, and Barron, two names that, for a long time, alone stood
between Bainbridge and the head of the service. Still, it is by no
means certain that injustice was done, such circumstances
frequently occurring in so young a service, to repair an original
wrong. At all events, no slight was intended to Bainbridge, or any
other officer who was passed; though the former ever maintained
that he had not his proper rank in the navy.
After refitting the Norfolk, Bainbridge returned to the West Indies,
where he was put under the orders of Capt. Christopher R. Perry, the
father of the celebrated Commodore Oliver H. Perry, who sent him to
cruise off Cape François. The brig changed her cruising ground,
under different orders, no opportunity occurring for meeting an
enemy of equal force. Indeed, it was highly creditable to the maritime
enterprise of the French that they appeared at all in those seas,
which were swarming with English and American cruisers; this
country alone seldom employing fewer than thirty sail in the West
Indies, that year; toward the close of the season it had near, if not
quite forty, including those who were passing between the islands
and the home coast.
On the 31st October, however, the Norfolk succeeded in
decoying an armed barge within reach of her guns. The enemy
discovered the brig’s character in time to escape to the shore,
notwithstanding; though he was pursued and the barge was
captured. Six dead and dying were found in, or near the boat.
In November, Bainbridge took a small lugger privateer, called Le
Républicain, with a prize in company. The former was destroyed at
sea, and the latter sent in. The prize of the lugger was a sloop. She
presented a horrible spectacle when taken possession of by the
Americans. Her decks were strewed with mangled bodies, the
husbands and parents of eleven women and children, who were
found weeping over them at the moment of recapture. The murders
had been committed by some brigands in a barge, who slew every
man in the sloop, and were proceeding to further outrages when the
lugger closed and drove them from their prey. An hour or two later,
Bainbridge captured both the vessels. His treatment of the
unfortunate females and children was such as ever marked his
generous and manly character.
 Shortly after, Capt. Bainbridge received an order, direct from the
Navy Department, to go off the neutral port of the Havana, to look
after the trade in that quarter. Here he was joined by the Warren 18,
Capt. Newman, and the Pinckney 18, Capt. Heyward. Bainbridge
was the senior officer, and continued to command this force to the
great advantage of American commerce, by blockading the enemy’s
privateers, and giving convoy, until March, 1800, when, his cruise
being up, he returned home, anchoring off Philadelphia early in the
month of April. His services, especially those before Havana, were
fully appreciated, and May 2d, of the same year, he was raised to the
rank of captain. Bainbridge had served with credit, and had now
reached the highest grade which existed in the navy, when he
wanted just five days of being twenty-six years old. He had carried
with him into the marine the ideas of a high-class Philadelphia
seaman, as to discipline, and these were doubtless the best which
then existed in the country. In every situation he had conducted
himself well, and the promise of his early career as a master of a
merchantman was likely to be redeemed, whenever occasion should
offer, under the pennant of the republic.
Among the vessels purchased into the service during the war of
1798, was an Indiaman called the George Washington. This ship
was an example of the irregularity in rating which prevailed at that
day; being set down in all the lists and registers of the period as a
24, when her tonnage was 624; while the Adams, John Adams, and
Boston, all near one sixth smaller, are rated as 32s. The George
Washington was, in effect, a large 28, carrying the complement and
armament of a vessel of that class. To this ship Bainbridge was now
appointed, receiving his orders the month he was promoted; or, in
May, 1800. The destination of the vessel was to carry tribute to the
Dey of Algiers! This was a galling service to a man of her
commander’s temperament, as, indeed, it would have proved to
nearly every other officer in the navy; but it put the ship quite as
much in the way of meeting with an enemy as if she had been sent
into the West Indies; and it was sending the pennant into the
Mediterranean for the first time since the formation of the new navy.
Thus the United States 44, first carried the pennant to Europe, in
1799; the Essex 32, first carried it round the Cape of Good Hope, in
1800, and around Cape Horn, in 1813; and this ship, the George
Washington 28, first carried it into the classical seas of the old world.
Bainbridge did not get the tribute collected and reach his port of
destination, before the month of September. Being entirely without
suspicion, and imagining that he came on an errand which should
entitle him, at least, to kind treatment, he carried the ship into the
mole, for the purpose of discharging with convenience. This duty,
however, was hardly performed, when the Dey proposed a service
for the George Washington, that was as novel in itself as it was
astounding to her commander.
It seems that this barbarian prince had got himself into discredit
at the Sublime Porte, and he felt the necessity of purchasing favor,
and of making his peace, by means of a tribute of his own. The
Grand Seignor was at war with France, and the Dey, his tributary
and dependant, had been guilty of the singular indiscretion of making
a separate treaty of peace with that powerful republic, for some
private object of his own. This was an offence to be expiated only by
a timely offering of certain slaves, various wild beasts, and a round
sum in gold. The presents to be sent were valued at more than half a
million of our money, and the passengers to be conveyed amounted
to between two and three hundred. As the Dey happened to have no
vessel fit for such a service, and the George Washington lay very
conveniently within his mole, and had just been engaged in this very
duty, he came to the natural conclusion she would answer his
purpose.
The application was first made in the form of a civil request,
through the consul. Bainbridge procured an audience, and
respectfully, but distinctly, stated that a compliance would be such a
departure from his orders as to put it out of the question. Hereupon
the Dey reminded the American that the ship was in his power, and
that what he now asked, he might take without asking, if it suited his
royal pleasure. A protracted and spirited discussion, in which the
consul joined, now followed, but all without effect. The Dey offered
the alternatives of compliance, or slavery and capture, for the frigate
and her crew, with war on the American trade. One of his arguments
is worthy of being recorded, as it fully exposes the feeble policy of
submission to any national wrong. He told the two American
functionaries, that their country paid him tribute, already, which was
an admission of their inferiority, as well as of their duty to obey him;
and he chose to order this particular piece of service, in addition to
the presents which he had just received.
Bainbridge finally consented to do as desired. He appears to
have been influenced in this decision, by the reasoning of Mr.
O’Brien, the consul, who had himself been a slave in Algiers, not
long before, and probably retained a lively impression of the power
of the barbarian, on his own shores. It is not to be concealed,
however, that temporizing in all such matters, had been the policy of
America, and it would have required men of extraordinary moral
courage to have opposed the wishes of the Dey, by a stern assertion
of those principles, which alone can render a nation great. “To ask
for nothing but what is right, and to submit to nothing that is wrong,”
is an axiom more easily maintained on paper than in practice, where
the chameleon-like policy of trade interferes to color principles; and
O’Brien, a merchant in effect, and Bainbridge, who had so lately
been in that pursuit himself, were not likely to overlook the besetting
weakness of the nation. Still, it may be questioned if there was a
man in the navy who felt a stronger desire to vindicate the true
maxims of national independence than the subject of this memoir.
He appears to have yielded solely to the arguments of the consul,
and to his apprehensions for a trade that certainly had no other
protection in that distant sea, than his own ship; and she would be
the first sacrifice of the Dey’s resentment. It ought to be mentioned,
too, that a base and selfish policy prevailed, in that day, on the
subject of the Barbary Powers, among the principal maritime states
of Europe. England, in particular, was supposed to wink at their
irregularities, in the hope that it might have a tendency to throw a
monopoly of the foreign navigation of the Mediterranean into the
hands of those countries which, by means of their great navies, and
their proximity to the African coast, were always ready to correct any
serious evil that might affect themselves. English policy had been
detected in the hostilities of the Dey, a few years earlier, and it is by
no means improbable that Mr. O’Brien foresaw consequences of this
nature, that did not lie absolutely on the surface.
 Yielding to the various considerations which were urged,
Bainbridge finally consented to comply with the Dey’s demand. The
presents and passengers were received on board, and on the 19th
of October, or about a month after her arrival at Algiers, the George
Washington was ready to sail for Constantinople. When on the very
eve of departing a new difficulty arose, and one of a nature to show
that the Dey was not entirely governed by rapacity, but that he had
rude notions of national honor, agreeably to opinions of the school in
which he had been trained. As the George Washington carried his
messenger, or ambassador, and was now employed in his service,
he insisted that she should carry the Algerine flag at the main, while
that of the republic to which the ship belonged, should fly at the fore.
An altercation occurred on this point of pure etiquette, the Dey
insisting that English, French, and Spanish commanders, whenever
they had performed a similar service for him, had not hesitated to
give this precedency to his ensign. This was probably true, as well
as the fact that vessels of war of those nations had consented to
serve him in this manner, in compliance with the selfish policy of their
respective governments; though it may be doubted whether English,
or French ships, had been impressed into such a duty. Dr. Harris,
whose biography of Bainbridge is much the most full of any written,
and to which we are indebted for many of our own details, has cited
an instance as recently as 1817, when an English vessel of war
conveyed presents to Constantinople for the Dey; though it was
improbable that any other inducement for the measure existed, than
a desire in the English authorities to maintain their influence in the
regency. Bainbridge, without entering into pledges on the subject,
and solely with a view to get his ship beyond the reach of the
formidable batteries of the mole, hoisted the Algerine ensign, as
desired, striking it, as soon as he found himself again the
commander of his own vessel.
The George Washington had a boisterous and weary passage to
the mouth of the Dardanelles, the ship being littered with Turks, and
the cages of wild beasts. This voyage was always a source of great
uneasiness and mortification to Bainbridge, but he occasionally
amused his friends with the relation of anecdotes that occurred
during its continuance. Among other things he mentioned that his
passengers were greatly puzzled to keep their faces toward Mecca,
in their frequent prayers; the ship often tacking during the time thus
occupied, more especially after they got into the narrow seas. A man
was finally stationed at the compass to give the faithful notice when it
was necessary to “go-about,” in consequence of the evolutions of the
frigate.
Bainbridge had great apprehensions of being detained at the
Dardanelles, for want of a firman, the United States having no
diplomatic agent at the Porte, and commercial jealousy being known
to exist, on the subject of introducing the American flag into those
waters. A sinister influence up at Constantinople might detain him for
weeks, or even prevent his passage altogether, and having come so
far, on his unpleasant errand, he was resolved to gather as many of
its benefits as possible. In the dilemma, therefore, he decided on a
ruse of great boldness, and one which proved that personal
considerations had little influence, when he thought the interests of
his country demanded their sacrifice.
The George Washington approached the castles with a strong
southerly wind, and she clewed up her light sails, as if about to
anchor, just as she began to salute. The works returned gun for gun,
and in the smoke sail was again made, and the ship glided out of the
range of shot before the deception was discovered; passing on
toward the sea of Marmora under a cloud of canvass. As vessels
were stopped at only one point, and the progress of the ship was too
rapid to admit of detention, she anchored unmolested under the
walls of Constantinople, on the 9th November, 1800; showing the
flag of the republic, for the first time, before that ancient town.
Bainbridge was probably right in his anticipation of difficulty in
procuring a firman to pass the castles, for when his vessel reported
her nation, an answer was sent off that the government of Turkey
knew of no such country. An explanation that the ship came from the
new world, that which Columbus had discovered, luckily proved
satisfactory, when a bunch of flowers and a lamb were sent on
board; the latter as a token of amity, and the former as a welcome.
The George Washington remained several weeks at
Constantinople, where Bainbridge and his officers were well
received, though the agents of the Dey fared worse. The Capudan
Pacha, in particular, formed a warm friendship for the commander of
the George Washington, whose fine personal appearance, frank
address and manly bearing were well calculated to obtain favor. This
functionary was married to a sister of the Sultan, and had more
influence at court than any other subject. He took Bainbridge
especially under his own protection, and when they parted, he gave
the frigate a passport, which showed that she and her commander
enjoyed this particular and high privilege. In fact, the intercourse
between this officer and the commander of the George Washington
was such as to approach nearly to paving the way for a treaty, a step
that Bainbridge warmly urged on the government at home, as both
possible and desirable. It has been conjectured even, that Capt.
Bainbridge was instructed on this subject; and that, in consenting to
go to Constantinople at all, he had the probabilities of opening some
such negotiation in view. This was not his own account of the matter,
although, in weighing the motives for complying with the Dey’s
demands, it is not impossible he permitted such a consideration to
have some weight.
The visit of Clarke, the well known traveler, occurred while the
George Washington was at Constantinople. The former
accompanied Bainbridge to the Black Sea, in the frigate’s long-boat,
where the American ensign was displayed also, for the first time. It
appears that an officer was one of the party in the celebrated visit of
the traveler to the seraglio, Bainbridge confirming Dr. Clarke’s
account of the affair, with the exception that he, himself, looked upon
the danger as very trifling.
During the friendly intercourse which existed between Capt.
Bainbridge and the Capudan Pacha, the latter incidentally mentioned
that the governor of the castles was condemned to die for suffering
the George Washington to pass without a firman, and that the
warrant of execution only waited for his signature, in order to be
enforced. Shocked at discovering the terrible strait to which he had
unintentionally reduced a perfectly innocent man, Bainbridge frankly
admitted his own act, and said if any one had erred it was himself;
begging the life of the governor, and offering to meet the
consequences in his own person. This generous course was not
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