Naval War of 1812 97 



ship armed with long I2's meets one armed with 

 32-pound carronades, which is superior in force? 

 At long range the first, and at short range the sec 

 ond ; and of course each captain is pretty sure to in 

 sist that "circumstances" forced him to fight at a 

 disadvantage. The result would depend largely on 

 the skill or luck of each commander in choosing po 

 sition. 



One thing is certain ; long guns are more formid 

 able than carronades of the same calibre. There are 

 exemplifications of this rule on both sides ; of course, 

 American writers, as a rule, only pay attention to 

 one set of cases and British to the others. The 

 Cyane and Levant threw a heavier broadside than 

 the Constitution but were certainly less formidably 

 armed; and the Essex threw a heavier broadside 

 than the Phoebe, yet was also less formidable. On 

 Lake Ontario the American ship General Pike threw 

 less metal at a broadside than either of her two 

 chief antagonists, but neither could be called her 

 equal ; while on Lake Champlain a parallel case is 

 afforded by the British ship Confiance. Supposing 

 that two ships throw the same broadside weight of 

 metal, one from long guns, the other from carron 

 ades, at short range they are equal ; at long, one has 

 it all her own way. Her captain thus certainly has 

 a great superiority of force, and if he does not take 

 advantage of it it is owing to his adversary's skill 

 or his own mismanagement. As a mere approxi 

 mation, it may be assumed, in comparing the broad 

 sides of two vessels or squadrons, that long guns 



VOL. IX. -5 



