The _Constitution_ took a long rest after this battle. The _Java’s_ shot
had discovered some rotten spots in her sides. A long overhaul was
required to make her again ready for sea. Meanwhile the Navy had won
many a victory and had suffered some defeats. Our little sloops-of-war
won a long succession of splendid successes. Gallant James Lawrence,
hero of the _Hornet-Peacock_ fight, lost the _Chesapeake_ to the British
frigate _Shannon_—crying, as he lay dying, “Don’t give up the ship!”
Sewing this motto on his blue battle flag Perry annihilated the British
squadron on Lake Erie. Macdonough saved the northern frontier with a
complete victory on Lake Champlain, which a British marine thought more
desperately fought than Trafalgar. Our privateers were gathering in
their prizes on every sea in constantly increasing numbers and sending
the insurance rates three times higher than all previous levels.
[Illustration: Close combat]
But the war could not well end without a third victory by the
_Constitution_. Now she was commanded by Charles Stewart, a worthy
successor to Hull and Bainbridge. On February 20, 1815, north of
Madeira, the American frigate came in contact with the British corvette
_Cyane_, thirty-four guns, and the sloop _Levant_, twenty-one. Their
fifty-five guns threw a slightly heavier weight of metal, but their
armament consisted mostly of short-range carronades which could not be
compared with the terrible long 24’s which filled the _Constitution’s_
gun-deck ports. Still the two Britons formed column and accepted
Stewart’s challenge.
Stewart might have fought at long range where the British carronades
could not have reached him. But night was coming on, and, if he were to
take both ships, there was no time to waste. “At five minutes past six,”
he wrote, “ranged up on the starboard side of the sternmost ship, about
three hundred yards distant, and commenced the action by broadsides,
both ships returning our fire with the greatest spirit for about fifteen
minutes.” Stewart’s tactics have a lesson: When you are anxious to
engage and night is approaching, do not try to get all the conditions in
your favor. Take things as they are and fight in the most decisive
manner. Otherwise you will never capture your _Cyane_ and _Levant_.
Perhaps we have here a lesson for the battles of peace as well as those
of war.
After this first engagement smoke clouds obscured the range and fire
ceased. But not for long, for now the _Constitution_ began a series of
beautiful maneuvers—raking each enemy ship in turn. They separated and
made off. Stewart hung close to the _Cyane_ and soon forced her to
surrender. By eight o’clock she had been manned by a prize crew. Stewart
started in search of the _Levant_.
Captain Douglass of the _Levant_ had now repaired his damages. Instead
of trying to escape, he sailed back to assist his comrade. But he was
too late. At eight-thirty he ran into the _Constitution_. Attempts to
escape proved futile and at ten the second prize was made. “At 1:00
A.M.,” Stewart reported, “the damages to our rigging had been repaired,
sails shifted, and the ship in fighting condition.” The price of this
double victory was only fifteen casualties.
The _Cyane_ safely reached home. The _Levant_ was recaptured by a
British squadron in a neutral port. The _Constitution_ received her last
battle triumph in New York many months after peace had been signed. She
had fought her last fight. But for many long years she served her
country well by showing the flag in every part of the world. After that
she trained many classes of midshipmen at the Naval Academy. Now her
useful labors are ended but she serves a still more important purpose.
For this old hulk, whose iron sides protected iron men, is an
inspiration to every officer and man in the naval service—and to every
American.
[Illustration: _Courtesy U. S. Naval Academy_ _From an engraving by
Sartain, after the original painting by Thomas Birch_
The Night Battle Between the U.S.S. _Constitution_ and H. M. Ships
_Cyane_ AND _Levant_
On the left is the corvette _Cyane_, in the center the frigate
_Constitution_, and on the right the sloop _Levant_. The
_Constitution_ captured both vessels.]
[Illustration: _From an engraving by Henry Meyer after the original
painting by John W. Jarvis_
Stephen Decatur]
EPILOGUE
Scarce one tall frigate walks the sea
Or skirts the safer shores
Of all that bore to victory
Our stout old Commodores.
So wrote Oliver Wendell Holmes in 1865. Many years have passed since
then. Again a tall frigate walks the sea. She carries a message from
many a stout old commodore, many an alert topman, many a keen-eyed
gunner. In fact, she carries a message from our Navy to our People.
All the stories of “Old Ironsides” in this little pamphlet are based
on chapters of _We Build a Navy_, by Commander H. H. Frost, U. S.
Navy, published by U. S. Naval Institute, Annapolis, Maryland.
_Information about the “Constitution”_
The building of the _Constitution_ resulted from the failure of the new
United States government to purchase protection from the Algerian
pirates. By a majority of two, the House of Representatives voted, in
March, 1794, to provide six frigates that “separately would be superior
to any European frigate.” The _Constitution_ was one of these. She was
designed by Joshua Humphreys of Philadelphia and built at Hartt’s Wharf
in Boston, near the present Constitution Wharf. The copper bolts and
fittings were supplied by Paul Revere. Construction was all but
abandoned after a new treaty was made with the pirates, but the
insistence of Presidents Washington and Adams, coupled with the rising
difficulties with revolutionary France, finally brought the work to
completion. She was launched in October, 1797, and commissioned quickly.
[Illustration: Under construction]
The _Constitution_ was rated as a 44-gun frigate but has carried as many
as 55 guns at various times. The present arrangement closely follows
that of her early days. The guns on the spar deck are 32-pounder
carronades, short, light guns which threw heavy shots a short distance
(300 to 400 yards). On the gun deck are long 24-pounders, heavy guns
with much greater range but less smashing power than the carronade. In
the following table the ranges given are for one degree of elevation.
The long gun could attain ranges up to 2,000 yards by greater elevation,
the projectile leaving the gun with a velocity of about 1,500 feet per
second.
The _Constitution_ cost $302,917. Her original dimensions were: length
over-all, 204 feet; beam, 43.5 feet; draft, forward 21 feet, aft 23
feet; displacement 2,200 tons. She was generally considered an excellent
sailer, the report being that “she works within eleven points of the
wind; steers, works, sails, scuds, and lies-to well; rolls deep and
easy, and sailing close-hauled has beaten everything sailed with.”
Guns of the Constitution
Location Type No. Length Weight Bore Powder Approx.
lbs. inches charge range
Gun deck, 24-pdr., 12 9′ 5¾″ 5,135 5.824 8 lbs. 700 yds.
for’d. and aft American
Gun deck, 24-pdr., 18 10′ 5¾″ 5,733 5.824 8 lbs. 700 yds.
amidships English
Spar deck 32-pdr., 20 5′ 5″ 2,240 6.41 4 lbs. 400 yds.
carronades
Spar deck, bow 24-pdr. 2 9′ 9½″ 4,170 5.824 8 lbs. 700 yds.
chasers
The two bow chasers are 18-pounders bored for 24-pound shot. They are
lighter than the standard 24-pounder to reduce top weights. Total
weight of broadside, 734 pounds. As shot were frequently underweight,
this figure is not exact.
Her complement was 400 officers and men, but she usually cruised with
about 50 men in excess. At sea the men were crowded closely together and
there was much sickness. The ration was fixed by law and it made a
monotonous diet. The legal ration for Sunday was 1½ lbs. beef, 14 oz.
bread, ½ lb. flour, ¼ lb. suet, ½ pt. spirits. On week days pork was
sometimes substituted for beef, with cheese or dried peas in place of
suet. The meat was usually salted, the bread stale and moldy, the
spirits good.
Transcriber’s Notes
—Silently corrected a few typos.
—Retained publication information from the printed edition: this eBook
is public-domain in the country of publication.
—In the text versions only, text in italics is delimited by
_underscores_.
—Inserted the original page-footer line drawings into the text.