no Naval War of 1812 



studding-sails, and by midnight was out of danger; 

 and three days afterward reached Halifax harbor. 

 Lord Howard Douglas 7 criticisms on this en 

 counter seem very just. He says that the President 

 opened very well with her bow-chasers (in fact the 

 Americans seemed to have aimed better and to have 

 done more execution with these guns than the Brit 

 ish with their stern-chasers; but that she lost so 

 much ground by yawing and delivering harmless 

 broadsides as to enable her antagonist to escape. 

 Certainly if it had not been for the time thus lost 

 to no purpose, the Commodore would have run 

 alongside his opponent, and the fate of the little 36 

 would have been sealed. On the other hand it must 

 be remembered that it was only the bursting of the 

 gun on board the President, causing such direful 

 confusion and loss, and especially harmful in dis 

 abling her commander, that gave the Belvidera any 

 chance of escape at all. At any rate, whether the 

 American frigate does, or does not, deserve blame, 

 Captain Byron and his crew do most emphatically 

 deserve praise for the skill with which their guns 

 were served and repairs made, the coolness with 

 which measures to escape were adopted, and the 

 courage with which they resisted so superior a force. 

 On this occasion Captain Byron showed himself as 

 good a seaman and as brave a man as he subsequent 

 ly proved a humane and generous enemy when en 

 gaged in the blockade of the Chesapeake. 8 



8 Even Niles, unscrupulously bitter as he is toward the 

 British, does justice to the humanity of Captains Byron and 



