This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "USS Constitution vs HMS Guerriere" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(November 2015) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

USSConstitution vs HMSGuerriere
Part of theWar of 1812
USSConstitution vs HMSGuerriere byThomas Birch
Date 19 August 1812 Location Atlantic Ocean 41°42′N55°33′W / 41.700°N 55.550°W /41.700; -55.550 Result American victory
Belligerents
United States	United Kingdom
Commanders and leaders
Isaac Hull	James Richard Dacres
Strength
44-gunFrigate 56 guns 754lbbroadside weight 480U.S. Navy Sailors andU.S. Marine infantry[1]	38-gunFrigate 44 guns 526lbbroadside weight 272Royal Navy Sailors andRoyal Marine infantry
Casualties and losses
7 killed 7 wounded[2]	Frigate sunk 15 killed 78 wounded 257 captured

USSConstitution vs HMSGuerriere was a battle between an American and British ship during theWar of 1812, about 400 miles (640 km) southeast ofHalifax, Nova Scotia. It took place on the 19th of August 1812, one month after the war'sfirst engagement between British and American forces.Guerriere was proceeding to Halifax for a refit, having been detached from a squadron which had earlier failed to captureConstitution. The two ships encountered each other on August 19th. In the exchange of broadsides,Guerriere's masts were felled, and the ship reduced to a sinking condition.Constitution's crew took the British sailors on board and setGuerriere on fire, then returned toBoston with news of the victory, which proved to be important for American morale.

When theUnited States declared war on Britain on 18 June 1812, theRoyal Navy had eighty-five vessels in American waters. By contrast, theUnited States Navy, which was not yet twenty years old, was afrigate navy that had only twenty-two commissioned vessels. The chief fighting strength of the U.S. Navy was asquadron of three frigates and twosloops of war under CommodoreJohn Rodgers, based inNew York. A week afterCongress declared war,United States Secretary of the NavyPaul Hamilton had sent orders to Rodgers to cruise off New York, and to CaptainIsaac Hull, commandingUSS Constitution atAnnapolis onChesapeake Bay, to join Rodgers.

However, Rodgers set out to sea immediately when he heard of the declaration of war, before he could receive Hamilton's instructions. He feared that if he delayed he might be blockaded by a superior British fleet, but by sailing immediately he might catch isolated British ships before they could concentrate.^[3] He did indeed encounter the frigateHMS Belvidera, butBelvidera escaped, aided by a bursting cannon aboardUSS President which injured Rodgers and caused much damage and confusion. Rodgers then crossed the Atlantic hoping to catch a valuable British convoy from theWest Indies. The weather was foul throughout the voyage and Rodgers missed the convoy, capturing only seven small merchant vessels.^[4]

On hearing ofBelvidera's encounter, Vice AdmiralHerbert Sawyer, the commander of the Royal Navy'sNorth American Station based at Halifax, Nova Scotia, despatched a squadron under CaptainPhilip Bowes Vere Broke to catch Rodgers' squadron. Broke's squadron consisted of the 64-gunship of the lineHMS Africa and the frigatesShannon,Aeolus,Belvidera andGuerriere.^[5] By forcing the British to concentrate their force in one place, Rodgers had made it possible for large numbers of American merchant ships to reach other ports without being intercepted.

This sectionneeds expansion. You can help byadding to it.(December 2016)

On the outbreak of war,Constitution was at Annapolis, collecting a fresh crew, and was unable to sail for three weeks. When her captain, Isaac Hull, was able to put his vessel to sea, he headed for New York in accordance with Secretary Hamilton's orders. Near New York, in the late afternoon of 17 July 1812, Hull saw four ships sailing west, and another one heading straight towardsConstitution. He thought the ships could be his commander Rodgers' squadron, but was cautious. He ordered signal lights to be shown, and when the approaching ship did not identify herself, orderedConstitution to keep her distance and wait for daylight to assess the situation.^[5] The approaching ship wasGuerriere, rejoining Broke's squadron after having become separated. Aboard her, CaptainJames Richard Dacres soon determined thatConstitution was a hostile ship, but at dawn on 18 July, he sighted the other four British ships. His signals to them were not answered. Mistaking these ships for Rodgers' entire squadron, Dacres also put as much distance betweenGuerriere and the other ships as he could, thus missing a chance to trapConstitution.^[6]

In light and fitful winds which occasionally died away altogether,Constitution led the British squadron in a stern chase.Constitution lowered her boats to tow the ship, while Broke ordered the boats from the entire British squadron to towShannon. In an attempt to pull away, Hull ordered ten tons of drinking water to be pumped overboard. Despite this, the British squadron continued to gain onConstitution.Constitution's First Lieutenant,Charles Morris, then suggestedkedging to haul the ship along. This allowedConstitution to draw away fromShannon.^[7] Fire from four heavy guns which Hull had shifted to point right aft prevented the British trying the same tactic. Late in the afternoon, the wind sprang up again, andConstitution increased her lead. The British ships gained slightly during the night, but the next day,Constitution drew away again, although the chase lasted another day and a night until the British ships were out of sight.

Following his escape, Hull sailed forBoston to replenish his drinking water supply, before setting out on 2 August to raid British merchant ships off Halifax and the mouth of theSt. Lawrence River, and then sailing south again towardsBermuda.Constitution soon chased down the AmericanprivateerDecatur, and her captain told Hull that he had escaped a British frigate the day before.^[8]

Broke had meanwhile sailed after the valuable West India convoy, assuming correctly that Rodgers was also searching for it. Three weeks after losing sight ofConstitution and having seen the convoy safely into British waters, Broke prepared to return to New York.Guerriere was detached and ordered to proceed to Halifax for a much-needed refit.^[9]

At 2:00 p.m. on 19 August,Constitution sighted a large ship to leeward, and bore down to investigate. The weather was cloudy, and the wind was brisk. The strange ship proved to beGuerriere, whose crew recognisedConstitution at about the same moment. Both ships prepared for action, and shortened sail to "fighting sail", i.e. topsails and jibs only. AsConstitution closed, Dacres firsthove to to fire a broadside, which fell short, and then ran before the wind for three quarters of an hour with theConstitution onGuerriere's quarter. Dacres yawed several times to fire broadsides atConstitution, butGuerriere's broadsides were generally inaccurate, while the few shots fired fromConstitution's foremost guns had little effect.^[10] After one cannonball bounced "harmlessly" off the side ofConstitution, a crew member is said to have yelled "Huzzah! Her sides are made of iron!"^[8]

Once the range had closed to within a few hundred yards, Captain Hull ordered extra sail (the foresail and main topgallant sail) to be set, to close the distance quickly. Dacres did not match this maneuver, and the two ships began exchanging broadsides at "half pistol-shot",^[11] withConstitution to starboard andGuerriere to port. After fifteen minutes of this exchange, during whichGuerriere suffered far more damage thanConstitution due to the latter's larger guns and thicker hull,Guerriere'smizzenmast fell overboard to starboard, acting like a rudder and dragging her around. This allowedConstitution to cross ahead ofGuerriere, firing a raking broadside which brought down the main yard. Hull thenwore ship to crossGuerriere's bow again, firing another raking broadside, but the maneuver was cut too close andGuerriere'sbowsprit became entangled in the rigging ofConstitution's mizzenmast.

On both ships, boarding parties were summoned and musket fire broke out. AboardConstitution, LieutenantWilliam S. Bush was killed and Lieutenant Charles Morris wounded by musket shots, as was Captain Dacres. OnlyGuerriere's narrow bowsprit provided a way between the ships, and in the heavy sea, neither side could venture across it. Some of the gunners aboardGuerriere fired at point-blank range into Hull's stern cabin, setting the American ship on fire briefly. The two locked ships slowly rotated clockwise until they broke free.Guerriere'sforemast andmainmast both then fell "by the board" i.e. snapped off at deck level, leaving her helpless and rolling heavily.^[12] Dacres attempted to set sail on the bowsprit to bring his ship before the wind, but it too had been damaged and broke.^[13] TheConstitution meanwhile ran downwind for several minutes, repairing damage to the rigging, before once again wearing and beating upwind to return to battle.

AsConstitution prepared to renew the action,Guerriere fired a shot in the opposite direction toConstitution.^[14] Sensing that this was an attempt to signal surrender, Hull ordered a boat to take a lieutenant over to the British ship. When the Lieutenant boardedGuerriere and asked ifGuerriere was prepared to surrender, Captain Dacres responded "Well, Sir, I don't know. Our mizzen mast is gone, our fore and main masts are gone - I think on the whole you might say we have struck our flag."^[2]

It was claimed that the standard American naval tactic was to stand off at long range and usedismantling shot to disable the opponent.^[15] If the above description of events is accurate, this shows Isaac Hull was not hesitant to close withGuerriere. However, the type of damage inflicted onGuerriere makes the employment of chain shot possible. On the other hand, the fact that theGuerriere's hull was damaged means that ball was also likely used. Hull would have known that the American ship's greater size, firepower, and complement gave him a significant advantage in close action.^{[citation needed]}

Captain Dacres was escorted aboardConstitution. Hull refused to accept Dacres' sword of surrender, saying he could not accept the sword from a man who had fought so gallantly.^[2] He also ordered that Dacres' mother's Bible be returned to him.^[2]Guerriere was clearly sinking, and the wounded were transferred toConstitution. Hull found that tenimpressed Americans had been serving aboardGuerriere but Dacres had permitted them to stay below decks instead of fighting their countrymen.^[16]

Hull wantedGuerriere towed in as a prize ship.Constitution lay byGuerriere during the night but at daybreak it was obvious thatGuerriere could not be salvaged. The prisoners and the American salvage parties were brought aboardConstitution and at 3:00 p.m.,Guerriere was set on fire, and soon blew up.^[17]

AlthoughConstitution was substantially undamaged and still had two thirds of its ammunition, shot from theGuerriere was wedged in the lower masts of the frigate andConstitution was unable to continue its cruise.^[18] Furthermore, Hull wanted the American public to have news of the victory. He reached Boston ten days later, and his news (with the obvious proof of more than two hundred prisoners of war) caused rejoicing.Guerriere had been one of the most active ships of the Royal Navy in stopping and searching American merchant vessels, and the news of her defeat was particularly satisfying to the American seafaring community.^[19]

After his return, Hull was never to hold another fighting command.^[16] His brother had died, leaving a widow and children whom Hull was now duty-bound to support. Seeking a commission that would better accommodate his new domestic responsibilities, Hull asked Navy Secretary Hamilton if he could exchange commands with CaptainWilliam Bainbridge, under whom he had served during theBarbary Wars and who was then commander of theBoston Navy Yard. Hamilton agreed, and on 15 September 1812, Hull took over the Navy Yard and Bainbridge became captain ofConstitution.

For his bravery during the battle, LieutenantJohn Cushing Aylwin was commended after gallantly facing the enemy and refusing medical attention until each of his men had been properly treated. However, Aylwin succumbed to injuries received during theConstitution's single-ship action againstHMSJava on 29 December 1812.

Once released by exchange of prisoners and returned to Halifax, Captain Dacres was tried bycourt martial, as was customary in the case of a Royal Navy ship lost from any cause. He put forward in his defence the material state ofGuerriere. The frigate was originally French-built, captured by the Royal Navy in 1806, and therefore not as sturdy as British-built ships. Also,Guerriere was badly decayed and proceeding to Halifax to refit at the time, and the fall of the mizzen mast which hamperedGuerriere early in the fight was claimed to be due as much to rot as battle damage.^[20] There was no suggestion that Dacres and his men had not done their utmost, or that Dacres had been reckless to engageConstitution. Dacres was therefore acquitted.^[21]

Two months after the battle betweenConstitution andGuerriere, the frigateHMS Macedonian was captured by theUSS United States. AlthoughMacedonian suffered the same proportion of casualties asGuerriere had and was incapable of further resistance, it was soon repaired while at sea, and was sailed back to the United States, giving some credibility to Dacres' statements in his defence.^[22]

Before the run of American victories in single-ship encounters early in the War of 1812, it was believed in the Royal Navy that a British 38-gun frigate could successfully engage a 44-gun frigate of any other nation.^[23] Before the battle, Dacres had appeared to be confident that, whatever its material state, his ship could defeat any American frigate. On 10 August, Dacres had captured an American merchant brig,Betsey. The brig's master (William B. Orne) was a prisoner aboardGuerriere whenConstitution was sighted and later wrote:

...the conclusion of course was, that she was either a French or an American frigate. Captain Dacres appeared anxious to ascertain her character, and after looking at her for that purpose, handed me his spy-glass, requesting me to give him my opinion of the stranger. I soon saw from the peculiarity of her sails, and from her general appearance, that she was, without doubt, an American frigate, and communicated the same to Captain Dacres. He immediately replied, that he thought she came down too boldly for an American, but soon after added : 'The better he behaves, the more honor we shall gain by taking him.'^[24]

Dacres is also supposed to have remarked to Orne that he would "be made for life" as the first British captain to capture an American frigate.^[25]

Although the battle was, arguably, inconsequential from a military perspective, as the loss ofGuerriere was insignificant to the 600 ship Royal Navy, it was a pivotal moment in American naval history.^{[26][page needed]}

The effect of the battle on American morale and patriotism was immeasurable. Prior to the battle, the American land campaign against Canada had been unsuccessful with a resulting loss of public support for the war. After the battle, the American public became galvanized by the pride in defeating the vaunted Royal Navy in a "fair" fight. AlthoughConstitution andGuerriere were both frigates,Constitution carried more guns of larger calibers, was built with stronger structural elements (scantling), and had a larger crew and, therefore, had a decisive advantage.

EnglishWikisource has original text related to this article:

Letter from Captain James R. Dacres, RN, to Vice Admiral Herbert Sawyer, RN

• Borneman, Walter R. (2004).1812: The War That Forged a Nation. New York: Harper Perennial.ISBN 978-0-06-053112-6.
• Brodine, Charles E, Crawford, Michael, and Hughes, Christine.Ironside!: The Ship, the Men and the Wars of the USS Constitution.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) Fireship Press, 2007.
• Forester, C.S. (1956).The Age of Fighting Sail. New English Library.ISBN 0-939218-06-2.{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
• Roosevelt, Theodore (1999).The Naval War of 1812. New York: Random House.ISBN 0-375-75419-9.

• Naval battles of the War of 1812
• August 1812
• Maritime incidents in 1812

• Wikipedia articles needing page number citations from October 2017
• Wikipedia articles needing page number citations from August 2023
• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Articles needing additional references from November 2015
• All articles needing additional references
• Use American English from July 2017
• All Wikipedia articles written in American English
• Use dmy dates from July 2017
• Pages using gadget WikiMiniAtlas
• Articles to be expanded from December 2016
• All articles to be expanded
• All articles with unsourced statements
• Articles with unsourced statements from April 2022
• Wikipedia articles needing page number citations from August 2020
• Wikisource templates with missing id
• CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list
• CS1 errors: ISBN date
• Pages using the Kartographer extension