136 Naval War of 1812 



line were very well fought, but she soon drove them 

 off, and then sprung her broadside so as to rake the 

 Saratoga on her bows. 



Macdonough by this time had his hands full, and 

 his fire was slackening; he was bearing the whole 

 brunt of the action, with the frigate on his beam and 

 the brig raking him. Twice his ship had been set 

 on fire by the hot shot of the Confiance; one by one 

 his long guns were disabled by shot, and his carron- 

 ades were either treated the same way or else ren 

 dered useless by excessive overcharging. Finally 

 but a single carronade was left in the starboard bat 

 teries, and on firing it the naval-bolt broke, the gun 

 flew off the carriage and fell down the main hatch, 

 leaving the Commodore without a single gun to op 

 pose to the few the Confiance still presented. The 

 battle would have been lost had not Macdonough's 

 foresight provided the means of retrieving it. The 

 anchor suspended astern of the Saratoga was let go, 

 and the men hauled in on the hawser that led to the 

 starboard quarter, bringing the ship's stern up over 

 the kedge. The ship now rode by the kedge and by 

 a line that had been bent to a bight in the stream 

 cable, and she was raked badly by the accurate fire 

 of the Linnet. By rousing on the line the ship was 

 at length got so far round that the aftermost gun 

 of the port broadside bore on the Confiance. The 

 men had been sent forward to keep as much out of 



