274 Naval War of 1812 



deserting their consorts and fleeing from much 

 smaller foes. Generally the American ship was 

 captured when opposed by an equal force although 

 there were some brilliant exceptions to this. With 

 the French things were more equal; their frigates 

 were sunk or captured time and again, but nearly 

 as often they sunk or captured their antagonists. 

 Some of the most gallant fights on record are re- 

 counted of French frigates of this period; in 1781 

 the Minerve, 32, resisted the Courageous, 74, till 

 she had lost 73 men and had actually inflicted a loss 

 of 17 men on her gigantic antagonist, and the pre- 

 vious year the Bellepoule, 32, had performed a simi- 

 lar feat with the Nonsuch, 64, while the Capricieuse, 

 32, had fought for five hours before surrendering 

 to the Prudent e and Licorne, each of force equal to 

 herself. She lost 100 men, inflicting a loss of 55 

 upon her two antagonists. Such instances make us 

 feel rather ashamed when we compare them with 

 the fight in which the British ship Glasgow, 20, beat 

 off an American squadron of 5 ships, including two 

 of equal force to herself, or with the time when 

 the Ariadne, 20, and Ceres, 14, attacked and cap- 

 tured without resistance the Alfred, 20, the latter 

 ship being- deserted in the most outrageously cow- 

 ardly manner by her consort the Raleigh, 32. At 

 that period the average American ship was certainly 

 by no means equal to the average French ship of the 



