Naval Actions of the War of 1812

by James Barnes

Despite his remonstrances, Bainbridge was compelled to do this, or the safety of every American in Algiers would have been in jeopardy, in addition to which the Bey declared he would immediately make war upon the United States. This disagreeable duty was performed, and the George Washington was the first vessel to fly the flag of the United States under the walls of Constantinople. The stars and stripes had never been seen there before; and as the name United States signified nothing to the governor of the Porte, Bainbridge had to explain that he came from the New World that Columbus had discovered.

On the 21st of January, 1801, Bainbridge was again in Algiers. He declined, however, to anchor in the harbor, as it was evident that the wily Bey was not to be trusted. Later in this year Bainbridge was transferred from the command of the George Washington to the Essex, which was one of a squadron of four vessels, consisting of the President, the Philadelphia, and the schooner Enterprise, under the command of Commodore Richard Dale, whose object was to protect American merchant ships from the depredation of the Tripolitan corsairs. Bainbridge was employed convoying merchantmen through the Strait of Gibraltar until the spring of 1802, when, his vessel being in need of repairs, he was ordered home. At once he was appointed to the command of the Philadelphia, to take up again the service he had left. On the 26th of August, not far from the strait, Bainbridge fell in with two suspicious sail—one a brig, and the other, apparently, one of the hated corsairs. He hailed them, and found that the brig was an American, and the other a Moorish vessel—the Meshtoha. Searching the latter, he found the officers and the crew of the brig under the hold, they having been captured nine days before. He retook the brig, placed her crew once more on board of her, and made a prize of the Tripolitan. This capture was a decided check to Moorish depredations. On the 21st of October, while Bainbridge was cruising off the harbor of Tripoli, sailing after one of the pirates, he unfortunately ran on a ledge of rock that was not down on the map which he possessed. All efforts to force the Philadelphia off the reef were unsuccessful, although everything was done to accomplish this; and after being subjected for five hours to the fire of numerous gunboats, a council of officers was called, and it was decided to surrender the ship as the only means of preserving the lives of her people. After this followed the long confinement, during which Bainbridge saw from his prison-cell the attempts of the American fleet under Preble to rescue him, and the destruction of the Philadelphia at last.

Shortly before the peace was made he was allowed to visit Preble’s fleet, under pledge of his word of honor to return, although the Bashaw exacted that he should leave a hostage. He returned to his confinement, unable to effect conclusions satisfactory to the Turk and to Commodore Preble; but in 1805 the Tripolitans gave in, the prisoners were exchanged after their nineteen months of painful captivity, and Bainbridge returned to the United States, where he was greeted with the warmest sympathy and exonerated for the loss of the Philadelphia by a Court of Inquiry. After making successful cruises in various commands, Bainbridge, being in America at the time war was considered imminent between this country and England, hastened to Washington and appeared before the Cabinet, and, with Commodore Stewart, successfully urged the rehabilitation of our little navy, that, owing to the mistaken policy then in force, had been allowed to fall into sad decay. Delighted at the result, he returned to Boston, where he took command of the navy-yard at Charlestown, which position he held at the time of the declaration of war against Great Britain in 1812.

But, to quote from the American Naval Biography, by John Frost, “it is not to be supposed that one so adventurous as Bainbridge could be satisfied to remain on shore comparatively inactive when danger and glory were to be courted on the sea.” Applying for the command of a frigate, the Constellation, 38, was placed at his service; but his arrangements were not completed when Captain Hull arrived in Boston harbor in the Constitution, after his victory over the Guerrière. Owing to some private affairs that demanded his immediate attention, Hull was obliged to resign his command, and Bainbridge, at his own request, was transferred to “Old Ironsides.” The Essex and the Hornet also were placed under his orders, the former under command of Captain David Porter, and the latter under the brave Lawrence. On October 26th, 1812, the Hornet and the Constitution sailed out to sea, bound for the Cape Verd Islands. The Essex, then being in the Delaware, was ordered to join them there; but circumstances prevented her from carrying this out, although Porter did his best to find his superior officer and report.

Thus we find, in the latter part of December, 1812, the old frigate Constitution cruising in southern waters off the coast of Brazil. Her brave little consort, the Hornet, she had left blockading the Bonne Citoyenne, a British sloop of war, in the harbor of Bahia. Every day the Hornet dared the Englishman to leave her anchorage and meet her, broadside to broadside, in the open sea beyond the neutral limits and the protection of Brazilian guns. Writes Captain Lawrence of the Yankee sloop to Captain Green of the Bonne Citoyenne: “I pledge my honor that neither the Constitution nor any other American vessel shall interfere.”

And, as if to emphasize this announcement, the Constitution spread her sails and sailed off to the southward, Bainbridge’s last message to the watching Lawrence being, “May glory and success attend you!” But Captain Green was prudent; the English vessel kept to the harbor with her load of specie and her superior armament, and Bainbridge it was who won “the glory and success.” Surely the Constitution was launched on a lucky day. About sixty hours after leaving the Island of San Salvador behind her, the Constitution was again clearing decks for action, and the men were cheering as they jumped to the guns. The following account is compiled from the Constitution’s log and Commodore Bainbridge’s diary:

It was the 29th of December; the vessel was in 13° S. latitude and 38° W. longitude, about ten leagues distant from the coast of Brazil. It was 9 A.M. when two strange sails were discovered on her weather bow. At 10 the strange sails were discovered to be ships. One of them stood in for the land; the other stood offshore towards the Constitution. At 10 Commodore Bainbridge tacked ship to the northward and westward, and stood for the sail approaching him. At 11 A.M. he tacked to the southward and eastward, hauling up the mainsail and taking in the royals. At 11.30 made the private signal for the day, which was not answered; then the commodore set mainsail and royals, to entice the strange sail off from the neutral ground, and separate her from the sail in company, which, however, was not necessary, as the other, with everything drawing, was making up the coast.

At 12 the American ensign and pendant were hoisted on board the Constitution. At fifteen minutes past 12 the strange sail hoisted an English ensign, and displayed a signal at her main-mast.

At a quarter-past one, the ship in sight proving to be an English frigate, and being sufficiently distant from land, Commodore Bainbridge ordered the mainsails and royals to be taken in, tacked ship, and stood for the enemy, who soon bore down with an intention of raking the Constitution, which the latter avoided by wearing. At 2 P.M. the British ship was within half a mile of the Constitution, and to windward. She now hauled down her colors, except a union-jack at the mizzen-mast-head. This induced Commodore Bainbridge to order a gun to be fired ahead of her, to make her show her colors, This was succeeded by the whole of the Constitution’s broadside. Immediately the enemy hoisted colors, and at once returned the fire. A general action now commenced with round and grape shot. But the British frigate kept at a much greater distance than the commodore wished. He, however, could not bring her to closer action without exposing his vessel to be several times raked. Both vessels for some time manoeuvred to obtain a position that would enable them to rake or avoid being raked, and it was evident that the Englishman was cautious and well manned. In the early part of the engagement the wheel of the Constitution was shot away; but so well was she handled from below that her movements were hardly retarded. Commodore Bainbridge now determined to close with the British vessel, notwithstanding in so doing he should expose his ship to be several times raked. He ordered the fore and main sails to be set, and luffed up close to the enemy in such manner that his jib-boom got foul of the Englishman’s mizzen-rigging. About 3 o’clock the head of the British vessel’s bowsprit and jib-boom were shot away, and in the space of an hour her foremast went by the board; her main-topmast just above the cap, her gaff and spanker-boom were shot away, and her main-mast went nearly by the board.

About 4 o’clock, the fire of the British vessel being completely silenced, and her colors in the main-rigging being down, she was supposed to have struck. The courses of the Constitution were now hauled on board, to shoot ahead, in order to repair her rigging, which was very much cut. The British vessel was left in bad condition; but her flag was soon after discovered to be still flying. The Constitution, however, hove to, to repair some of her damages. About a quarter of an hour after, the main-mast of the British vessel went by the board. At a quarter of five or thereabouts the Constitution wore, and stood for the British vessel, and got close to her athwart her bows, in a very effectual position for raking, when she very prudently struck her flag. Had she suffered the broadside to rake her, her additional loss would have been extremely great, for she lay quite an unmanageable wreck upon the water.