Show di 9 sr vj V 41 ago 7 W A aa iia af ar ELMO SCOTT WATSON isaac did so 10 maul and rake rak her that the decks decka or of captain dacre wr were in uch much a pickle As A if death with ci the and sickle with his bh sling or with hla his s haft bad cut his harvest fore for and aft thus in thirty minutes ended that could not be mended mast haft and yards and ship descended all to david jones locker such a ship in such a pucker old song I 1 the present nationwide campaign to raise funds tor for the restoration and preservation of the historic frigate constitution it would be singularly appropriate prop it if this patriotic effort were crowned with success by august 19 for that la Is the anniversary of old ironsides greatest victory the day when the she fought the terrific engagement with the english frigate guerriere Guerr lere off on the coast of nova scotia and in one halt half hour raised the united states to the rank of a first class power in all the brilliant record of this wonderful old warship there Is no incident more thrilling than the story of her duel with the proud ship which bore on her sails balls in letters red words of warning words of dread all who meet me have a carel I 1 am En glands guerriere Guerr lere on august 2 1812 the constitution commanded by capt isaac 1101 sailed galled from boston in the hope of falling in with some of the british war vessels which were supposed to be lying in walt wait for american shipping along the atlantic coast from nantucket to halifax null hull was especially anxious to meet the guerriere Guerr lere commanded by capt james richard dacres who had font word to american commanders that his ship was not the little belt a reference to the dispute between the two nations over abo had been the aggressor in the engagement in which the american ship president utmost almost destroyed the british ship little litile belt before war had bad been declared cl ared after cruising about in northern waters for more than a week during which time he overhauled several small fry of british shipping hull still seeking big game finally anally turned old ironsides southward about two on the afternoon of august 19 the lookout look out reported a sail on the horizon hoil zon hull immediately gave chase to the stranger and at halt half past three discovered that it was a british frig lite sailing to within a league to the leeward of the enemy hull shortened fall fail cleared decks for action hoisted the american flag beat to quarters and bore down on the enemy to bring her to close combat seeing this action the enemy ship also prepared tor for action and when the englishman had hoisted three ensigns hull saw to his joy that his adversary wag as the one ship he had been seeking the guerriere Guerr lere captain dacres opened the engagement with a broadside of grapeshot filled away and split tn in another broadside on the other anck t ick on account of the distance which repa separated rated the adversaries however uither u c ither broadside took effect for the boxt hour the two vessels maneuvered fluch n uch in the manner ot of two boxers e ach trying to pet get in a position to anke the other with its gunfire and at the same time avoid being raked finally the guerriere began to draw ot with the constitution in close pur ault trying to bring the fight to close quarters at last about six in the evening the englishman took B s position that indicated he w was is willing to engage in a yardarm yard arm to yard arm arn fight and hull closed in ur all the 1 taws ws of the constitution doubled the quarter rinart pr of 0 the guerriere Guerr lere from the moment that the american lip had bad begun to close in on the en amy my the fire of the english guns hal begun to strike old Irons ironsides ldes lieutenant morris hulls second in command eom mand became Impat impatient lent and going to hla his commander asked permission to open fire not yet was hulls quiet huiet response nearer and nearer dearer the two warships drew together and again morris repeated his bis request only to nelve the same quiet not yet 0 i I 1 q 4 so aa at last as the bows of ilic elie american ship drew alongside the enemy hull shouted now boys pour it into tbell phenil instantly old ironsides forward guns gans which gad bad been double with grape and round shot poured forth a terrific volley which swept the guerriere and bathed her decks in the blood of her men cut but the men of the Guerr guerriere lere had not been idle the two ships were now within halt half a pistol shot ot of each other and the eng English lis limans mans guns were pounding the american vessel but for or every blow that he dealt he be received two in return within fifteen minutes the Guerri eres mizzen mast was shot away her main yard was in slings and her hull spars sails and rigging were torn to pieces by the hall of metal from the constitution the tIsher brought up in the wind as the mizzen mast gave way and the constitution passed slowly ahead poured in a tremendous tore fire lulled short around the bows of the enemy to prevent being raked but fell foul of the guerriere her bowsprit running into the larboard quarter of the enemy ship at this moment the cabin of the constitution was set on tre tire by the forward guns of the englishman but the names flames were put out quickly As the two vessels lay locked for a moment each side attempted to board the other fierce volleys of musketry amid the roar of the big guns added to the horror of the scene the americans who were attempting to board the enemy were led by lieutenant morris master alwyn and lieutenant bush of the marines morris and alwyn were severely wounded and bush was shot down before the americans could accomplish their purpose the sails of the constitution were filled and she shot ahead and clear of the enemy ship As she did so the Guerri eres foremast fore tore mast went down carrying with it the mainmast main mast leaving that proud ship a shattered wreck rolling in the trough of the sea hull bull hauled off his vessel a short distance away made hasty repairs on the rigging of his ship and at sunset bore down to a position which would enable him to rake the crippled Guerr guerriere lere rut but the englishman was through A jack that had bad been kept flying on the stump of the mizzen mast was lowered as a signal of null hull sent george C read to board the prize As read stepped on dock deck and asked tor for the commander dacres appeared commodore nulls compliments and he wishes to know it if you have struck your hag flag said read dacres calmly looking over the wreckage that surrounded him replied dryly well I 1 dont know our mizzenmast mizzen mast Is gone our maln mainmast mast Is gone and upon the whole you may say we have struck our flag read then offered the services of a surgeon or a surgeons surgeon mate well I 1 should suppose you had on board your own ship business enough tor for all your medical otti cers said dacres oil oh no replied read head we have only seven wounded and they were dressed half an hour ago one casualty which the constitution had suffered but which read kead did not mention was one illustrative of those ludicrous incidents which so often accompany historic events in those days the uniform of 0 american naval commanders was an affair of much gold lace and buttons as to the coati coat ruffled shirts and tight knee breeches at the opening of the engagement null hull after twice saying not yeti yet to morriss request for permission to open fire had finally given the word and as he did so he be twice bent forward almost to the deck when the smoke of that first thunderous volley cleared away it was discovered that hulls energetic movements had split his tight breeches from waistband to the knee I 1 but there was no time to change then and in this lc costume he continued to direct his men throughout the battle the constitution kept near her prize all night at dawn the officer in charge of the Guerr guerriere lere reported that she was filling with water and in danger of sinking so hull sent his boats to bring off the prisoners and the prize crew and by three in the afternoon the ship was deserted she was too much damaged to be saved so she was set on bre and fifteen minutes later an explosion that scattered blazing brands far and wide over the waters marked the end of En glands Guerr guerriere lere 11 hull arrived in boston on august 30 and reported his big victory to the secretary of war when the news new spread it was received everywhere with the wildest demonstrations of 0 joy for it meant that En glands reign as the mistress of the seas was wag beginning to wane null was the hero of the hour especially since his victory dispelled the gloom that had bad been caused by the surrender of 0 hla his uncle general hull at detroit a short time before the commander and his men were feasted at a great celebration in faneuil hall null was voted a gold medal by congress and 50 in prize money was distributed among his men other cities honored him and the name of isaac hull has come down in american naval history along with that of john paul jones as one of our greatest naval heroes thereafter the tha constitution was known as old ironsides and although she won other victories none was more brilliant than this one |