130 Naval War of 1812 



night; but at daylight it was found that she was in 

 danger of sinking. Captain Hull at once began re 

 moving the prisoners, and at three o'clock in the 

 afternoon set the Guerriere on fire, and in a quarter 

 of an hour she blew up. He then set sail for Bos 

 ton, where he arrived on August 3Oth. "Captain 

 Hull and his officers," writes Captain Dacres in his 

 official letter, "have treated us like brave and gener 

 ous enemies; the greatest care has been taken that 

 we should not lose the smallest trifle." 



The British laid very great stress on the rotten 

 and decayed condition of the Guerriere; mentioning 

 in particular that the mainmast fell solely because 

 of the weight of the falling foremast. But it must 

 be remembered that until the action occurred she 

 was considered a very fine ship. Thus, in Brighton's 

 "Memoir of Admiral Broke," it is declared that 

 Dacres freely expressed the opinion that she could 

 take a ship in half the time a the Shannon could. 

 The fall of the mainmast occurred when the fight 

 was practically over; it had no influence whatever 

 on the conflict. It was also asserted that her powder 

 was bad, but on no authority ; her first broadside fell 

 short, but so, under similar circumstances, did the 

 first broadside of the United States. None of these 

 causes accounts for the fact that her shot did not hit. 

 Her opponent was of such superior force nearly in 

 the proportion of 3 to 2 that success would have 

 been very difficult in any event, and no one can 

 doubt the gallantry and pluck with which the Brit 

 ish ship was fought; but the execution was very 



