On the Ocean 131 



greatly disproportioned to the force. The gunnery 

 of the Guerriere was very poor, and that of the 

 Constitution excellent; during the few minutes the 

 ships were yardarm and yardarm, the latter was not 

 hulled once, while no less than 30 shot took effect 

 on the former's engaged side, 30 five sheets of copper 

 beneath the bends. The Guerriere, moreover, was 

 out-manceuvred ; "in wearing several times and ex 

 changing broadsides in such rapid and continual 

 changes of position, her fire was much more harm 

 less than it would have been if she had kept more 

 steady." 31 The Constitution was handled fault 

 lessly ; Captain Hull displayed the coolness and skill 

 of a veteran in the way in which he managed, first 

 to avoid being raked, and then to improve the ad 

 vantage which the precision and rapidity of his fire 

 had gained. "After making every allowance claimed 

 by the enemy, the character of this victory is not 

 essentially altered. Its peculiarities were a fine dis 

 play of seamanship in the approach, extraordinary 

 efficiency in the attack, and great readiness in re 

 pairing damages ; all of which denote cool and capa 

 ble officers, with an expert and trained crew; in a 

 word, a disciplined man-of-war." 32 The disparity 

 of force, 10 to 7, is not enough to account for the 

 disparity of execution, 10 to 2. Of course, some 

 thing must be allowed for the decayed state of the 

 Englishman's masts, although I really do not think 



10 Captain Dacres' address to the court-martial. 

 81 Lord Howard Douglas' "Treatise on Naval Gunnery" 

 (London, 1851), p. 454. 

 88 Cooper, ii, 173. 



