A few minutes later the Constitution’s largest boat was rowing away ahead with a small anchor on board, and stretching out a half mile of lines and cables knotted together. When that anchor was dropped to the bottom the men on the ship began to haul in on the line—to walk away with it at a smart pace, and the speed of the Constitution, which at best had been no more than a mile an hour, was at once trebled. She was literally clawing her way out of trouble, clear of the enemy.
Meantime another kedge and a fresh line were made ready, so that by the time the crew had tracked the ship to the first anchor a second one was in the mud a half mile ahead and ready for them. In this way a substantial gain was made on the enemy, who lagged under the slower work of the men towing with small boats.
Towing a Becalmed Frigate.
From a picture drawn and engraved by Baugean.
Finally, at 9.10 A.M., a light air was seen on the oil-smooth water in the south. The yards of the Constitution were at once braced sharp up to meet it, and by the time its breath had filled the sails the willing crew had the boats alongside and hoisted out of the water—some to the davits where they belonged, and some lifted by spare spars, rigged over the rail, just clear of the water, where they could be dropped the instant they were needed.
But if the wind gave the sailors who had been on deck all night long a brief chance to rest, it was after all of more advantage to the enemy than to the Constitution. For she had had to change her course when the breeze came, and that change was sending her closer to the Guerrière, instead of further away. Worse yet, it seemed to the Yankees that their sails had no more than rounded full under the caress of the zephyr than it failed them again, and once more the canvas rattled and slapped the creaking spars.
The Guerrière now began firing, and there was nothing to do but once more to stretch out the lines with the kedge anchor and begin anew the tracking the Constitution ahead. For an hour the weary men stretched out their tow-line and hauled it in and stretched and hauled again. Captain Hull had lightened the ship by starting nine or ten tons of water, and the Constitution was just beginning to show a fair gain once more over the enemy when Captain Byron of the Belvidera saw how it was that the Yankees were clawing away, and adopted the same tactics.
Immediately this was done the boats from the fleet flocked with men to her deck to help haul in on the line—flocked there with men who were fresh and strong from the decks of the other ships, while the men of the Constitution were worn with the loss of sleep the night before and the fierce efforts of the morning.
By 2 o’clock in the afternoon these fresh men had drawn the Belvidera so near that she opened fire, and, although the shots fell short, Captain Hull now supposed he would surely be captured, and so prepared to make a good fight with the first ship in hope of disabling her before the rest could come to help. But the Belvidera, not wishing to risk her anchor-carrying boats within range of the Constitution’s guns, was content to claw forward on the Yankee’s quarter just out of range, while the Shannon and Eolus strove to help partially surround the Constitution once more.