Show 1 M IC 1 nj P 11 V ae iva I 1 T 11 A I 1 aa at 4 M MAW av A 1 lai 0 X d J W 5 0 3 W V Z ah 4 vol W r axa api W 1 W q V ar p r A A F qa PA ATE on the afternoon of at aigist gust 19 one hundred bears ears ago captain caplain L isaac hull one of ameri amerl cas ca s greatest naval command ers won mon a wager of a hat from captain james tames richard dacres of the british navy in addition to tl tle e hat the man lost the first action between frigates in the war mar ot of 1812 and his country suffered a blow to its pride and pie prestige stige aiom which it was long in recovering A few days later the constitution atlon one of the vessels which the british commanders had sneeringly called the fir built yankee frigates fl flying ing a piece of striped bunt ing at their mast heads appeared oft boston lighthouse gaily decked with flags and proudly passed up the har bar bor to tell of the capture and destrie tion of the guerriere only a month mouth before this momen tons tous engagement had an exciting experience with the Guerr guerriere fere and her consorts the bevi bev dere and leol is these u three vessels pursued fie vie constitution for more than 66 hours and captain hull es onla by indomitable persever ance and most skillful putting into boston for supplies early in august the constitution started out again on a hunt for the enen y and on aug 19 a sail was sighted elgh ted that proved to be a british fr gate which from her maneuvers was evidently desirous of engaging when the vessels were three miles apart captain Capt itri hull sent down his roal royal bards arda reefed his topsails and sent the crew to quarters this crew was remarkably disciplined and drill ed at a the guns and more than that scarcely a man of them but had bad a score to settle with the english on the bare backs of most of them were the acara scars in ide by the lashes of the brutal english press gangs and many were descendants of american sailors who mho had bad suffered martyrdom in the british prison ships during the revolution hull himself hI kept in mind midd the fact that his father died in a pest ship from the cruel treatment he had re hull wanted the hat soon after 4 0 clock the two fri gates exchanged ineffectual broad sides while maneuvering tor for position and constantly drawing closer about 6 9 clock H ill al becoming impatient ordered the constitution to be steered directly tor for the enema o 0 and rapidly closed upon his port quarter by the orders of hull the americans now ceased firing and made all eions tor for an effective broadside reload ing frig the guns carefully with mith round shot and grape and training them upon the british ship the englishmen were to be seen working their guns stead lly fly and their frequent cheers were plainly heard what followed is thus told by edgar S maclay in his his tory of the navy As yet no order had come from the quarterdeck quarter deck of the american frigate and perfect quiet pre prevailed along her decks as the men stood by their guns nearly all of them barefooted and many stripped to the waist ever and anon casting inq ing etring glances at their officers at this moment a hot struck the constitution constitutions s bulwarks and threw innumerable splinters oer over the first division of the gun deck mounding diug rs averal veral men observing the effect of this lot ot the englishmen gave three cheers but still the amer ddn an fr gate remained iema ined silent first lieutenant mt merls now approached the quarter deik deck dei k where captain hull was coolly pacing back and forth and said raid the enemy has opened fire and killed two of our men shall i e ra not yet sir 4 as the response from the quarterdeck quarter deck and the men saw their mutilated ship mates hurried below to the surgeon surgeons table while they stood intently at their guns in momentary expectation of meeting a similar fate nothing but the perfect discipline in the amer lean frigate restrained the impatience of the gun crews aad and prevented them from returning the englishman s can no three times lieutenant morris asked it if he be could open fire and three times he was answered with a I 1 calm not yet sir i but at last having gained a post tion abo it 40 cards off the enemy a port quarter captain hull gave the cider to fire as the gund bore in an instant the frigate belied forth a storm of iron hall that carried death an I 1 destruct on into the opposing ship the splinters were seen to fly ay over the british frigate like a cloud some of them reaching as high as the mizzen top while the cheers of her men abruptly abrupt i ceased and the shrieks and groins of the wounded m were ere heard the americans had bad struck their first earnest blow and it was a staggering onet the englishman felt its full weight and perhaps for the first time realized that this was mas no child a play br tish vessel shattered serving their gui a with binary rapidity and accuracy the th americana americans inflicted great damage or on the guerriere Guerr fler lere s hull and rigging and anc a round shot brought down the eng lis lashman hinan s mizzenmast this brought the Guerr lei e up into the wind and the constitution got in two raking broad sides the vessels came together with the English englishman mans s jib boom ex tending across the constitution s quarter deck both crews prepared for boarding but the rolling of the ships prevented this meanwhile the sharpshooters in the toi tot a were work ing with energy and several officers and many men on both sides were killed or wounded mounded captain hull stepped upon a chest to lead the board ers but a seaman pulled him down beg I 1 ging him not to so expose himself while wearing those sm swabs abs re ferring to his epaulets the ships were vero so close together that an amer ican sailor after firing his pistol at an englishman threw the weapon at his enemy hitting him in the face another of the americans young john hogan won a pension just about this time the american flag at the main top gallant mast head was carried away by a shot and hogan ran up the rigging and nailed the flag to the mast descending unhurt captain dacres was among those wounded by the riflemen a bullet striking him in the back the frigates now tell fell apart and in dropping astern the guerriere Guerr Guerri lere eres s bow sprit struck the american a alt her fore fo stays were mere slackened and her foremast went ment by the 61 eldee falling across the main stays this brought down the mainmast and the vessel feel into the trough of the sea a complete wreck at each wave rolling the 11 deck guns in the water capitain Cap hull seeing that the en emy was m as done for drew eff off to repair damages so that be he should not be caught by any other british vessel that come along alwag and returning later seit sei t lieutenant read to take possession captain dacres antly adm eted that be he could 7 ot con tini tim e the combat and accompanied read to the constitution As he came up the bide side on a roie rope ladder captain ill hill 11 assisted him saying give me your hand dacres I 1 know you are hurt and ard when the conquered corn com mander offered his sword hull cried N na 0 I 1 will not take the sword from 0 e ato A 0 knows s so well how to use it b t I 1 itt it trouble you tor for that hot bat abe aget vager on the outcome of a pos sible meeting betm een their tive I 1 ga es had been made befort the breaking out of hostilities hull did all that was possible to relieve the suffering of the winded englishmen the guenivere Gue was m as found to be in a sinking condi condition tiou and was blown up th s victory of the constitution was wa the first of moment won mon by the americans in the war and cheered us up the nation mightily it was followed by many another one of tle most f famous anions being commodor perry a 1 victory in the battle jot of lake erie exle thai centenary of which Is to celebrated next summer with great cere ceremonies montes and ione continued fet lete |