“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 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.
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.”