Morale Booster

At about the time I begin this post, on an afternoon 203 years ago, a couple of wooden warships started shooting at each other. One was the HMS Guerriere, commanded by Captain James Richard Dacres, a French-built British frigate. The other was the USS Constitution, commanded by Captain Isaac Hull, which was about to earn a nickname it carries to this day.

The Royal Navy was the most powerful instrument of war the world had ever known, and allowed a small island to extend its reach so far around the globe that the saying was, "The sun never sets on the British Empire." Its superiority in firepower, ship-handling, gunnery and maritime technology made it a fearsome foe -- especially if the opponent was an upstart pipsqueak of a nation sounding off to the very people from whence it came, like a child telling his or her parents where to get off. Royal Navy self-confidence was such that Dacres felt his Guerriere could defeat this American in single-ship action, even though it mounted six more guns and had a broadside firing weight almost double his own.

But because that upstart pipsqueak of a nation had in fact come from the mighty Royal Navy, it had a few skills in shipbuilding and ship-handling itself. The frigates the Americans created in this 44-gun class were not only larger than the class of the same name in the Royal Navy, they were tougher-built and carried larger and stronger guns. No small number of American sailors had learnt their trade under a Union Jack, and admiration for the Royal Navy was widespread enough among American officers that they could not help but emulate the British model of professionalism, first-class gunnery and fighting spirit.

Those factors, combined with Guerriere's aging timbers and masts, gave Hull and Constitution the victory. Guerriere's fire was largely ineffective, aimed high at masts and rigging to try to disable Constitution. The fire directed at the hull was likewise undamaging. When a cannon ball bounced off the hull, a sailor was supposed to have cried out, "Huzzah, boys! Her sides are made of iron!" Though the battle was not particularly relevant militarily, the effect on morale of beating the mighty Royal Navy one-on-one in the open sea was great, and helping the US Navy establish a sense of its own power important as well. "Old Ironsides," though retired from active duty, remains a commissioned warship in the United States Navy and its officers and crew are active seamen on special duty. Her current captain, Cmdr. Robert Gerosa, Jr., is her 74th commanding officer.

When Dacres came aboard to offer his sword in the manner of accepted naval surrender, Hull refused to take it from him as he had fought too gallantly to be shamed so. In his official letter to the Admiralty about the battle, Dacres for his part included this: "I feel it my duty to state that the conduct of Captain Hull and his Officers to our Men has been that of a brave Enemy, the greatest care being taken to prevent our Men losing the smallest trifle, and the greatest attention being paid to the wounded who through the attention and skill of Mr [John] Irvine, Surgeon, I hope will do well."

Constitution is currently in dry dock being restored to a more seaworthy condition. She sailed on this day in 2013 to commemorate her victory over Guerriere, and as long as she remains afloat she can remind us of a time where even enemies who had tried to sink you could be recognized for their courage. And perhaps even someday become an example of how to treat people who have not even tried to shoot you, but who only disagree with your politics.