48 Naval War of 1812 



Euryalus, Havannah, and Hebrus opened on Fort 

 McHenry, some of the other fortifications being oc 

 casionally fired at. A furious but harmless cannon 

 ade was kept up between the forts and ships until 

 7 A.M. on the I4th, when the British fleet and army 

 retired. 



I have related these events out of their natural 

 order because they really had very little to do with 

 our navy, and yet it is necessary to mention them in 

 order to give an idea of the course of events. The 

 British and American accounts of the various gun 

 boat attacks differ widely ; but it is very certain that 

 the gunboats accomplished little or nothing of im 

 portance. On the other hand, their loss amounted 

 to nothing, for many of those that were sunk were 

 afterward raised, and the total tonnage of those de 

 stroyed would not much exceed that of the British 

 barges captured by them from time to time or de 

 stroyed by the land batteries. 



The purchased brig Rattlesnake, 16, had been 

 cruising in the Atlantic with a good deal of success ; 

 but in lat. 40 N., long. 33 W., was chased by a 

 frigate from which Lieutenant Renshaw, the brig's 

 commander, managed to escape only by throwing 

 overboard all his guns except two long nines; and 

 on June 22d he was captured by the Leander, 50, 

 Captain Sir George Ralph Collier, K.C.B. 



