USS Constitution vs HMS Guerriere
Constitution's crew took the British sailors on board and set Guerriere on fire, then returned to Boston with news of the victory, which proved to be important for American morale.The chief fighting strength of the U.S. Navy was a squadron of three frigates and two sloops of war under Commodore John Rodgers, based in New York.Broke's squadron consisted of the 64-gun ship of the line HMS Africa and the frigates Shannon, Aeolus, Belvidera and Guerriere.[6] In light and fitful winds which occasionally died away altogether, Constitution led the British squadron in a stern chase.Constitution soon chased down the American privateer Decatur, and her captain told Hull that he had escaped a British frigate the day before.Dacres did not match this maneuver, and the two ships began exchanging broadsides at "half pistol-shot",[11] with Constitution to starboard and Guerriere to port.Guerriere's foremast and mainmast both then fell "by the board" i.e. snapped off at deck level, leaving her helpless and rolling heavily.[13] The Constitution meanwhile ran downwind for several minutes, repairing damage to the rigging, before once again wearing and beating upwind to return to battle.Hull found that ten impressed Americans had been serving aboard Guerriere but Dacres had permitted them to stay below decks instead of fighting their countrymen.For his bravery during the battle, Lieutenant John Cushing Aylwin was commended after gallantly facing the enemy and refusing medical attention until each of his men had been properly treated.Once released by exchange of prisoners and returned to Halifax, Captain Dacres was tried by court martial, as was customary in the case of a Royal Navy ship lost from any cause.Although Macedonian suffered the same proportion of casualties as Guerriere 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.The brig's master (William B. Orne) was a prisoner aboard Guerriere when Constitution 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.[25] Although the battle was, arguably, inconsequential from a military perspective, as the loss of Guerriere was insignificant to the 600 ship Royal Navy, it was a pivotal moment in American naval history.Prior to the battle, the American land campaign against Canada had been unsuccessful with a resulting loss of public support for the war.
War of 1812Michele Felice CornèAtlantic OceanUnited StatesUnited KingdomIsaac HullJames Richard DacresFrigatebroadside weightU.S. Navy SailorsU.S. Marine infantryRoyal Navy SailorsRoyal Marine infantryUSS Essex vs HMS AlertCapture of HMS FrolicUSS United States vs HMS MacedonianSinking of HMS PeacockRappahannock RiverCapture of USS ChesapeakeCapture of the Young TeazerCapture of HMS DominicaCapture of HMS BoxerCapture of HMS EpervierSinking of HMS ReindeerSinking of HMS AvonCapture of USS PresidentCapture of HMS Cyane and HMS LevantCapture of HMS PenguinCapture of East India Company ship NautilusLong IslandAlexandriaBaltimoreHampdenFort PeterLake Ontario1st Sacket's HarborCapture of HMS Caledonia and HMS DetroitFort George2nd Sacket's HarborLake ErieFort OswegoLake HuronLake ChamplainLa GuairaLake BorgneFort St. PhilipJames IslandCharles IslandNuku HivaValparaísoHalifax, Nova Scotiafirst engagementGuerriereConstitutionBostonRoyal NavyUnited States Navyfrigate navysquadronsloops of warJohn RodgersNew YorkCongressUnited States Secretary of the NavyPaul HamiltonUSS ConstitutionAnnapolisChesapeake BayHMS BelvideraUSS PresidentWest IndiesHerbert SawyerNorth American StationPhilip Bowes Vere Brokeship of the lineHMS AfricaShannonAeolusCharles MorrisSt. Lawrence RiverBermudaprivateerhove tomizzenmastwore shipbowspritengravingWilliam S. Bushforemastmainmastdismantling shotimpressedWilliam BainbridgeBarbary WarsBoston Navy YardJohn Cushing AylwinHMS Javacourt martialHMS MacedonianUSS United StatesscantlingWikisourceBorneman, Walter R.Forester, C.S.Roosevelt, TheodoreBattles of the War of 1812Timeline of the War of 1812DelawareDistrict of ColumbiaWashingtonGeorgiaLouisianaNew OrleansMarylandHavre de GraceSt. MichaelsBladensburgCaulk's FieldNorth PointBig Sandy CreekBuffaloOgdensburgPlattsburghNiagaraBlack RockSacket's Harbor