o hated iron-clads, liked
torpedoes little better; but had he foreseen their effects upon naval
tactics, he might have hailed them as the destroyers of the iron-clad
ships.

CHAPTER XII.

NAVAL EVENTS OF 1778. -- RECRUITING FOR THE NAVY. -- THE
DESCENT UPON NEW PROVIDENCE. -- OPERATIONS ON THE DELAWARE.
-- CAPT. BARRY'S EXPLOITS. -- DESTRUCTION OF THE AMERICAN
FRIGATES. -- AMERICAN REVERSES. -- THE CAPTURE OF THE
"PIGOT." -- FRENCH NAVAL EXPLOITS.

The year 1778 opened with the brightest prospects for the American
cause. The notable success of the American arms on land, and
particularly the surrender of Burgoyne, had favorably disposed France
toward an alliance with the United States; and, in fact, this alliance
was soon formed. Furthermore, the evidence of the prowess of the
Americans on shore had stirred up the naval authorities to vigorous
action, and it was determined to make the year 1778 a notable one upon
the ocean.

Much difficulty was found, at the very outset, in getting men to ship
for service on the regular cruisers. Privateers were being fitted out
in every port; and on them the life was easy, discipline slack, danger
to life small, and the prospects for financial reward far greater than
on the United States men-of-war. Accordingly, the seafaring men as a
rule preferred to ship on the privateers. At no time in the history
of the United States has the barbaric British custom of getting
sailors for the navy by means of the "press-gang" been followed.
American blue-jackets have never been impressed by force. It is
unfortunately true that unfair advantages have been taken of their
simplicity, and sometimes they have even been shipped while under the
influence of liquor; but such cases have been rare. It is safe to say
that few men have ever trod the deck of a United States man-of-war, as
members of the crew, without being there of their own free will and
accord.

But in 1777 it was sometimes hard to fill the ships' rosters. Then the
ingenuity of the recruiting officers was called into play. A sailor
who served on the "Protector" during the Revolution thus tells the
story of his enlistment:--

"All means were resorted to which ingenuity could devise to induce men
to enlist. A recruiting officer, bearing a flag, and attended by a
band of martial music, paraded the streets, to excite a thirst for
glory and a spirit of military ambition. The recruiting officer
possessed th