This remarkable action has always excited great interest among naval
men, on account of the nautical ability displayed by Captain Stewart,
and the very capital manner in which his officers and men seconded him,
not only during the action itself, but in his subsequent escape from a
superior force.
In the year 1813, during the war with Great Britain, the frigate
Constitution (that favorite and most useful ship, already celebrated
for her capture of the Guerrière, and for her remarkable escape from
the pursuit of an English squadron) was found to be so decayed as to
require extensive repairs. Her crew was therefore transferred to the
Lakes, and when she was again ready for sea, a new one was shipped for
her, and Captain Stewart was ordered to her command.
Charles Stewart was born in Philadelphia, in July, 1778. Going to sea
in the merchant service at the age of thirteen, he rose to the command
of an East Indiaman while still a youth. Upon the organization of the
Navy, in 1798, he was appointed a Lieutenant. After seeing considerable
active service in the West Indies, during which, in command of
the schooner Experiment, he captured three French privateers, he
went to the Mediterranean, in 1802, as first lieutenant of the
Constellation. Here he saw service against Tripoli. The next year he
had command of the brig Syren, and convoyed the party, in the ketch
Intrepid, which destroyed the frigate Philadelphia. After continued
service against the Tripolitans he was named the Senior Master
Commandant, in 1804. Returning home, he was promoted to Captain, and
for some time employed in New York in superintending the construction
of gun-boats, after which he returned to the merchant service for
several years. During the war of 1812 he commanded the Constellation
and the Constitution.
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