by the exercise of remarkable seamanship captain hull had succeeded in escaping from the british squadron, under broke, off the jersey coast. but he came so near capture that the secretary of the navy succeeded in frightening himself and the whole cabinet at washington into such a state of timidity that, had they had their way, no war-vessel flying the american flag would have been allowed to leave any atlantic seaport and put to sea.
captain hull had carried the “constitution” into boston, where, if the orders had reached him in time, the secretary would have peremptorily bidden him to remain. but hull was not in a humor to be inactive. what he wanted was a fight, yard-arm to yard-arm, with a frigate of the enemy, preferably the “guerriere,” captain richard dacres, who had sailed boldly up and down the coast with an open challenge to any frigate flying the american flag. though very warm personal friends ashore, both hull and dacres had high opinions[91] of the merits of their own vessels. dacres voiced the prevailing sentiment of the officers of his navy when he spoke of the “constitution” as a bunch of pine boards which the british would knock to pieces in twenty minutes. hull said little; but several months before war was declared had met dacres, and wagered him a cocked hat on the result should the “constitution” and the “guerriere” ever meet. with the timidity at home, neither he nor any american officers had much encouragement. there was no confidence in the navy at this period, and the insults they heard from abroad were not half so hard to bear as the thinly-veiled indifference they met at home.
but hull knew he had a good ship and a good crew. he had trained them himself, and he knew what they could do aloft and at the guns. moreover, he knew what he could do himself. the navy was small, but the men who had smelt powder in the revolution and before tripoli were a stalwart set and had done deeds of gallantry that had set the greatest admirals of europe by the ears. many ingenious contrivances had been adopted, to be now tried for the first time. sights had been put upon the guns, and the gun-captains knew better how to shoot than ever before. so, without waiting for the orders from[92] the secretary which he knew would hold him in port indefinitely, hull sailed on the first fair wind and uncompromisingly put out to sea. if the orders came, he wouldn’t be back to obey unless he had captured a british frigate, or, at the very least, some merchant prizes. if he did not succeed, it meant that he might be hung or shot for sailing without orders. but even this sword of damocles did not deter him. he would do his best, at any rate, and made a quiet seaman’s petition to the god of winds and seas to send him the “guerriere.”
thinking to find a better opportunity towards halifax, where many british men-of-war and merchantmen put in, hull sailed to the northward, and cruised as far as the mouth of the gulf of st. lawrence. the frigate “spartan,” 38, was in those waters; but after watching for her for some days, he stood out to sea. on the 15th of august he sighted five vessels. the “constitution” set all sail and rapidly came up with them. four of them scattered, leaving the fifth, a brig, on fire. hull made for the largest of the others, and found her to be an english merchantman in charge of an american prize-crew. the “constitution” saved her from capture at the hands of the other vessels. before night another vessel was overhauled, and she was found[93] to be the american “adeline,” in the hands of a prize-crew from the british “avenger.” one vessel was destroyed and the other was sent to boston in charge of midshipman madison and five men, carrying the first suggestion of the brilliant news which was to follow.
a few days later the “constitution” chased and overhauled the american privateer “decatur,” which, believing her to be an english cruiser, had thrown overboard almost all of her guns. the captain of the privateer had good news, though. he had sighted an english frigate the day before, sailing southward under easy sail. hull immediately set everything the “constitution” could carry and gave the quartermasters a course which should enable him to come up with her by the following day.
the next morning dawned clear, but the breezes fell light, and not until the morning watch was there wind enough to send the american frigate bowling along on her course under top-gallant-sails and royals. hull took the deck for awhile himself and sent lookouts to the fore- and main-royal-yards to keep a sharp lookout. with moderate luck they should catch up with her. and then hull felt that he would make the “constitution” the most talked about ship afloat or else he[94] would change the timidity at the navy department into a panic for which there would be some reason.
if the ship were the “guerriere,” he promised himself a new hat.
not a sail hove in sight until towards two in the afternoon, when a lookout aloft shouted, in a voice that was taken up by four hundred throats on the spar- and gun-decks,—
“sail ho!”
in a moment the watch below came rushing up. so great was the excitement that many of them went half-way to the tops, without orders or permission, to view the stranger. in an hour the stronger glasses proved her plainly to be a frigate, and the “constitution” eased off her sheets, and with the bit in her teeth boomed steadily down for her. for an hour the two ships moved in this position, the stranger making no effort to escape and leaving her colors, which were soon made out to be british, flying in defiance. in fact, as soon as she discovered the “constitution” to be an american frigate she took in sail, laid her maintop-sail to the mast, and silently awaited the approach. hull sailed on until within about three miles of the enemy, when he sent his light yards down, reefed his topsails, and cleared ship for action.
[95]
an american-built frigate was for the first time to test her stanchness against a worthy representative of the mistress of the seas and “terror of the world.” most of the crew had never been in close action before. the chase of the “constitution” had tired their hearts less than their bodies, for the firing of the british squadron had been at a very long range, and there was never a time when their ship was in danger from the cannonading of the enemy. there was not a qualm or a fear to be seen on the faces either of grizzled seaman or powder-boy, and they went to quarters with enthusiasm.
but underlying it all there was a note of gravity. they were going to bring an american ship into action with a frigate whose navy had scored hundreds of victories over the vessels of all the great nations of the earth. they half wondered at their audacity and that of their captain in defying a frigate so redoubtable as the “guerriere,” for there seemed no further doubt that it was she. but they looked up at hull, who was calmly pacing up and down the quarter-deck, taking a look now and then at the enemy through his glass, and their confidence came back to them. the excitement was intense, and one by one the men began throwing aside their shirts and[96] drawing in the buckles of their cutlass-hangers, most of the gun-crews stripping themselves to the waist and casting aside their shoes to avoid slipping on the decks when the blood began to flow. more than one of them had his own private score to settle with the british navy. many of them had been at one time or another taken off american merchant-ships and impressed into the service of the enemy, and some of them still bore upon their backs the scars of the bloody lashes of the relentless “cat.” the father of captain hull had died in the pest-ship “jersey,” in the revolution, and the other officers had all some grievances of their own which made them look eagerly forward to the battle which they intended should mean victory or death.
on the “guerriere” there was a feeling of unshaken confidence. that any calamity to their ship could be expected from an american-built vessel, manned by a crew collected haphazard among the merchant-ships of the atlantic harbors, never for a moment occurred to them. when the drum beat to quarters, the men tumbled to their stations willingly enough, with no more trepidation than if they were going to target-practice. captain dacres summoned an american prisoner, the captain of the captured merchant-brig “betsy,” and[97] asked him what he thought of the vessel which was approaching. the skipper ventured that she was undoubtedly an american frigate. captain dacres replied with a smile,—
“she comes down a shade too boldly for an american.” and then added, “well, the better he behaves the more honor we will have in taking him.”
as the “constitution” bore down nearer, her ensign and jack flying proudly, there could no longer be any doubt as to her nationality and intentions, and he shouted to his crew, who stood at the guns,—
“there, my men, is a yankee frigate. in forty-five minutes she is certainly ours. take her in fifteen, and i promise you four months’ pay.”
shortly after this captain hull was within two or three miles, and the “guerriere” opened fire on the “constitution,” to try the distance and get the range.
the shots fell short, but hull took in his light sails and came down more warily under topsails. the “constitution” fired a broadside, but these shots, too, dropped in the water between them. as he came nearer, the “guerriere” squared away, wearing first to port and then to starboard, firing alternate broadsides and man?uvring to avoid being[98] raked. he wanted to cripple the american’s rigging from a distance, if possible. but the shot all missed their mark, and the “constitution” only replied with her bow-guns. hull soon saw that this man?uvring might last the day out without coming to close quarters, so he hoisted his top-gallant-sails and made straight for the enemy.
now the shot of the englishman began coming aboard. some of the standing rigging was cut away and the vessel was hulled several times. but the men, having carefully reloaded, stood silently at their guns, looking out through the ports at the “guerriere,” which, enveloped in smoke, kept up a continuous fire. they looked anxiously at the short, stout, sturdy figure of captain hull, but he continued pacing the quarter-deck, making no sign that he was aware of the damage the shots were causing. in a moment the report of “nobody hurt yet, sir,” ceased suddenly. a shot struck the “constitution’s” starboard bulwarks up forward and sent a jagged hail of splinters among the crew of two of the guns of the first division. two men were killed outright and one or two more were wounded by this shot, and as their shipmates saw the men carried below to the cockpit they moved uneasily, and several of the gun-captains wished to fire. lieutenant[99] morris now, with a view to quieting them, strode aft to the quarter-deck, where hull was still calmly pacing up and down, and said,—
“the enemy has killed two of our men. shall we return it?”
“not yet, sir,” replied the impenetrable hull.
morris returned to his station. but there is nothing more disorganizing to men than to be fired at and not have the opportunity of firing in return, and they besought morris again to give the permission. twice more the lieutenant went aft to the quarter-deck, and twice he got the same reply. hull, like paul jones, believed in great broadsides at close quarters. this silence under galling fire was the greatest test of discipline an american crew had ever had. for in the heat of battle a man forgets to be afraid. that the men stood to it, speaks well for hull’s training.
at last the “constitution,” which had been drawing closer and closer, drew up to a position about forty yards off the “guerriere’s” port-quarter, and hull, waiting until his guns could all bear, stooped low, bursting his breeches from knee to waistband in the excitement of the moment, and gave vent to all the pent-up feelings of two hours in the hoarse order,—
[100]
“now, boys, give it to them!”
it was a well-directed broadside.
the shots crashed along the line of bulwarks and sent showers of splinters flying over her spar-deck. the ships were so close together that the effect of those shots could be seen distinctly. some of the splinters flew as high as the mizzen-top, and instantly the english cheering ceased and the shrieks and cries of the wounded rang out between the concussions. dacres now, for the first time, must have realized how great the honor would be if he took the “constitution.”
nor did the action promise any sign of being over in fifteen minutes. so well aimed were the american guns that in a short time the enemy’s main-yard was shot away, and he was otherwise damaged severely both below and aloft. at a little after six a twenty-four pound shot went through the “guerriere’s” mizzen-mast, and, swaying a moment, over it fell to starboard, making a wreck and drag which impeded the englishman’s man?uvres. the seas pounded it against the sides of the ship and a hole was knocked under her stern, through which she began taking water badly. when the mizzen-mast fell, hull threw off his hat, and shouted,—
“hurrah, boys, we’ve made a brig of her!”
in the tops of the “constitution”
[101]
one of the seamen shouted back,—
“we’ll make a sloop of her soon, sir!”
and they did; for in a little while the foremast followed by the board. the wreck trailing in the water astern acted as a rudder to the “guerriere,” and she swung across the wind. the “constitution” forged ahead, and crossing her bows, poured in a raking broadside. then swinging round to port, she sent in another as effective as the first. the ships were very close together, and a fire from a burning gun-wad broke out in the cabin of the american ship. this was quickly put out, however, by lieutenant hoffman of the after-gun division.
both captains now decided to board, and the men were massed on the decks as they could be spared from the guns for the purpose. dacres was on the point of sending his men across his bowsprit, but, finding the jackies of the “constitution” ready to receive him, changed his mind. the sharpshooters in the tops of both vessels were firing into the black masses of men, and every shot told. lieutenant morris, on the “constitution,” while attempting to take a few turns of rope around the bowsprit of the “guerriere,” received a bullet through the body. william s. bush, the first lieutenant of marines, while standing[102] on the taffrail ready to board, was shot through the skull by a british marine, and instantly killed. john c. alwyn, the sailing-master, at the same time received a ball through the shoulder. captain hull climbed up on the rail, when a yankee seaman, putting his arms around him, dragged him down and out of danger.
“not with them swabs on,” he said, pointing to hull’s big bullion epaulettes. he would have been a certain mark for one of the sharpshooters of the enemy.
at about this time the flag of the “constitution,” which had been nailed at the mizzen-truck, was shot down. but a young topman, named hogan, shinned up the spar far aloft, and, though fired at repeatedly by the british marines, succeeded in replacing it amid the cheers of his companions.
on the “guerriere” things were going badly. captain dacres had been shot in the back by one of the american marines, but he pluckily remained on deck. as the “constitution” got clear again, both the mainmast and foremast of the “guerriere,” which had been repeatedly cut by american shot, went over with a crash, and she lay on the wave completely helpless. this was less than half an hour after the “constitution” sent in her terrible broadside.
[103]
the american ship drew off to a short distance to repair her damages, and in less than an hour returned, and sent lieutenant read in a cutter to discover if captain dacres had surrendered.
dacres’s humiliation was complete, and he felt that further battle would only be the butchery of his own brave fellows.
lieutenant read hailed him to learn if he had surrendered.
“i don’t know that it would be prudent to continue the engagement any longer.”
“do i understand you to say that you have struck?” asked read.
“not precisely; but i don’t know that it would be worth while to fight any longer.”
“if you cannot decide,” said the american, “i will return aboard my ship and resume the engagement.”
dacres here called out hurriedly,—
“i am pretty much hors de combat already. i have hardly men enough to work a single gun and my ship is in a sinking condition.”
“i wish to know, sir,” demanded read peremptorily, “whether i am to consider you as a prisoner of war or as an enemy. i have no time for further parley.”
dacres paused, and then said, brokenly, “i believe now there is no alternative. if i could[104] fight longer i would with pleasure, but i—i must surrender.”
when dacres went up the side of the “constitution” to surrender his sword he was treated in the manner befitting his rank by a generous enemy. captain hull assisted him to the deck, saying, anxiously,—
“dacres, give me your hand; i know you are hurt.” and when the englishman extended his sword, hilt forward, in formal surrender, hull said, magnanimously,—
“no, no; i will not have the sword of a man who knows so well how to use it. but”—and his eyes twinkled merrily—“but i’ll thank you for that hat.” he had not forgotten the wager, if dacres had.
the transferring of prisoners was at once begun, for it was seen that the “guerriere” was a hopeless hulk, not fit to take to port. when this was all completed and every article of value taken from her, she was blown up, and the “constitution” sailed for boston.
she arrived at an opportune time. for detroit had been surrendered without firing a shot in its defence, and the american arms on the canadian frontier had otherwise met with disastrous failure. the “constitution,” gaily dressed in flags, came up the harbor amid the booming of cannon and the wildest of excitement[105] among the people. a banquet was given to the officers in faneuil hall, and from that time the american navy gained a prestige at home it has never since lost. congress voted a gold medal to captain hull, silver ones to the officers, and fifty thousand dollars as a bonus to the crew.
the statistics of the fight are as follows:
the “constitution” had fifty-five guns, the “guerriere” forty-nine, sending shot weighing approximately seven hundred and six hundred pounds respectively. the “constitution’s” crew numbered four hundred and sixty-eight; that of the “guerriere” two hundred and sixty-three. the “constitution” lost seven killed and seven wounded, and the “guerriere” fifteen killed and sixty-three wounded. all authorities acknowledge that, other things being equal, the discrepancy in metal and crews hardly explains the difference in the condition of the vessels at the end of the battle.