150 Naval War of 1812 



Of course, it would have been almost impossible 

 for the Macedonian to conquer with one-third less 

 force; but the disparity was by no means sufficient 

 to account for the ninefold greater loss suffered, and 

 the ease and impunity with which the victory was 

 won. The British sailors fought with their accus 

 tomed courage, but their gunnery was exceedingly 

 poor; and it must be remembered that though the 

 ship was bravely fought, still the defence was by 

 no means so desperate as that made by the Essex 

 or even the Chesapeake, as witnessed by their re 

 spective losses. The Macedonian, moreover, was 

 surrendered when she had suffered less damage 

 than either the Guerriere or Java. The chief cause 

 of her loss lay in the fact that Captain Garden was 

 a poor commander. The gunnery of the Java, Guer 

 riere, and Macedonian was equally bad; but while 

 Captain Lambert proved himself to be as able as he 

 was gallant, and Captain Dacres did nearly as well, 

 Captain Carden, on the other hand, was first too 

 timid, and then too rash, and showed bad judgment 

 at all times. By continuing his original course he 

 could have closed at once ; but he lost his chance by 

 over-anxiety to keep the weather-gage, and was cen 

 sured by the court-martial accordingly. Then he 

 tried to remedy one error by another, and made a 

 foolishly rash approach. A very able and fair- 

 minded English writer says of this action : "As a 

 display of courage the character of the service was 

 nobly upheld, but we would be deceiving ourselves 

 were we to admit that the comparative expertness 



