Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 2).djvu/76

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DALE
DALE

can board to a station in India ; but financial em- barrassment prevented his departure, and to fit himself more thoroughly for mission work he en- tered the medical department of the University of Pennsylvania, where he received his degree in 1838. He had been ordained at Andover in 1837, and, after supplying pulpits in Philadelphia, was agent of the Anierican Bible society in 1838-45. He then held pastorates at Ividley, Middletown, Media, and Wayne, Pa., till 1870, when he retired and devoted himself to literature. Dr. Dale was at one time a leader in the temperance movement in Media. The LTniversity of Pennsylvania gave him the degree of D. D. in 18G8. His principal work is an exhaustive " Inquiry into the Meaning of BaTTTj^oj as determined by Usage," including "Classic Ba,ptism " (Philadelphia, 1807): "Judaic Baptism " (1809) ; " Johannic Baptism " (1871) ; and " Christie and Patristic Baptism " (1874). Dr. Dale's conclusions are adverse to the views of the Baptists on the subject ; but the work is consid- ered an authority by scholars of all other denomi- nations, and has received from them the highest praise. A memorial of Dr. Dale was written by the liev. James Roberts, D. D. (Philadelphia, print- ed privately, 1886).


DALE, Richard, naval officer, b. near Norfolk, Va.. 6 Nov., 1756 ; d. in Philadelphia, Pa., 26 Feb., 1826. He entered the merchant service at the age of twelve, and at nineteen commanded a ship. In 1770 he became a lieutenant in the Virginia navy, and was soon afterward cap- tured and con- fined in a pri- son - ship at Norfolk,where some royalist school - mates persuaded him to embark on an English cruiser against the vessels of s^, his state. He ^ was wounded in an engage- ment with an American flo- tilla,and,while confined to his bed in Norfolk, resolved "nev- er again to put

himself in the

way of the bullets of his own countrymen." After the Declaration of Independence he became a mid- shipman on the American brig " Lexington." which was captured on the coast of Prance bythe English cutter "Alert" in 1777. Dale was thrown into Mill prison, at Plymouth, with the rest of the offi- cers and crew of the " Lexington," on a charge of high treason, but escaped, with many of his fellow- prisoners, in February, 1778, was recaptured, es- caped again, disguised as a British naval officer, and reached France, where he joined John Paul Jones's squadron as master's mate. Jones soon made him first lieutenant of the " Bon Homme Richard," and in that capacity he fought with distinction in the famous battle with the " Serapis," on 23 Sept., 1779, and received a severe splinter wound. After the sinking of the "Bon Homme Richard" in that engagement. Dale served with Jones in the " Alliance." and afterward in the " Ariel." He re- turned to Philadelphia on 28 Feb., 1781, was placed on the list of lieutenants in the navy, and joined the " Trumbull," which was captured in August of that year by the " Ii'is " and the " Monk." Dale received his third wound in the engagement. He was exchanged in November, obtained leave of ab- sence, and served on letters of marque and in the merchant service tiU the close of the war. He was appointed captain in 1794, but, with the exception of a short cruise in the " Ganges," during the troubles with France, was not in active service till 1801, when he was given command of a squadron and ordered to the Mediterranean during the hos- tilities with Tripoli. Although he was greatly hampered by his instructions, so that no serious enterprise could be attempted, he prevented the Tripolitans from making any captures during his command. He returned to the United States in April, 1802, and was again ordered to the Medi- terranean, but, becoming dissatisfied, he resigned his commission on 17 Dec, and, having gained a competency, spent the rest of his life in retirement. Dale enjoyed the distinction of having been praised by Lord Nelson, who, after critically watching the seamanship of the commodore's squadron, said that there was in the handling of those trans-Atlantic ships a nucleus of trouble for the navy of Great Britain. The prediction was soon verified. Two of Com. Dale's sons held commissions in the navy. DALE, Samuel, pioneer, b. in Rockbi-idge county, Va., in 1772 ; d. in Lauderdale county, Miss., 24 May, 1841. His parents were Pennsyl- vanians of Scotch-Irish extraction. Samuel went with them in 1775 to the forks of Clinch river, Va., and in 1783 to the vicinity of the present town of Greensborough, Ga. In both these places the family lived with others in a stockade, being exposed to frequent attacks from Indians, and young Dale thus became familiar with sa,vage warfare. After the death of his parents in 1791 he enlisted in 1793 as a scout in the service of the United States, and soon became a famous Indian fighter, being known as " Big Sam." His most noted exploit was his " canoe fight," a struggle in a canoe with seven Indians, all of whom he killed. This remarkable contest took place on 13 Nov., 1813, at Randon's landing, on the Alabama river, and all its circum- stances were afterward verified before the Alabama legislature. The death of the last of the Indians, Tar-cha-chee, a noted wrestler and the most famous ball-player of his clan, is thus described by Dale : " He paused a moment in expectation of my attack, but, finding me motionless, he stepped backward to the bow of the canoe, shook himself, gave the war-whoop of his tribe, and cried out, ' Sam tholocco, lana dahmaska, ia-lanestha-lipso-lipsolanestha ! ' ' Big Sam. I am a man ; I am coming, come on ! ' As he said this, with a terrific yell he bounded over the dead body of his comrade, and directed a blow at my head with his rifle, which dislocated my left shoulder. I dashed the bayonet into him. It glanced around his ribs, and, the point hitching to his backbone, I pressed him down. As I pulled the weapon out, he put his hands upon the sides of the canoe and endeavored to rise, crying out, ' Tar-cha-chee is a man ; he is not afraid to die ! ' I drove my bayonet through his heart." Dale commanded a battalion of Kentucky volunteers against the Creeks in February, 1814, and in December carried despatches for Gen. Jackson from Georgia to New Orleans in eight days with only one horse. After the war he became a trader at Dale's Ferry, Ala., was appointed colonel of militia, held various local offices, and was a delegate in 1810 to the convention that divided the territory of Mississippi. He was a member of the first gen-