Red Letter Anniversary for the U.S. Navy

USS Constitution

The first ship-to-ship action in the illustrious career of the USS Constitution was fought on August 19, 1812 – two hundred years ago today.  While the American Navy was born during the Revolutionary War, it came into its own during the War of 1812, and the Constitution’s resounding defeat of HMS Guerriere is unquestionably one of the milestones of our Navy’s proud history.

During the 18^th Century, naval battles were fought mainly in two ways.  Fleets would fight each other by lining up their largest ships (known, therefore, as “ships of the line”), and pounding each other – not subtle but effective.  Probably the most famous of these battles was the British victory over the French and Spanish fleets at Trafalgar in 1805.  Other lighter, faster ships such as frigates, which were used for protecting or raiding commerce, scouting, and a myriad of other duties, fought, if at all, usually one-on-one battles.  

A “frigate,” as the term was used in the 18^th Century, was the largest class of ships below the size of battleships.  Frigates were generally described by the number of cannon they carried.  USS Constitution was a 44-gun frigate.  HMS Guerriere, its opponent on August 19, 1812, was a 38-gun frigate of the British Royal Navy.  

USS Constitution escaping British squadron

This apparent difference in firepower should not, however, be exaggerated.  While the Constitution had more (and larger) guns, it had never fought a single-ship action.  On the other hand, the Royal Navy had more than 20 years of experience and almost unbroken success fighting the Revolutionary and Napoleonic French and their allies.  The British public expected, and routinely got, victories by its smaller ships against larger adversaries.  In fact, the Guerriere had originally been captured from the French (hence it’s French name) in 1806 by a smaller British ship.  

In July, 1812, Constitution had narrowly escaped a group of British frigates off the New Jersey coast.  On August 19, Guerriere and Constitution were alone in New England waters when they spotted each other.  As was typical at the time for ships of relatively equal size, the two combatants immediately closed in for a fight.  Guerriere shot first, but did little damage to the Constitution.  In fact, Constitution’s oak siding was so thick that cannon balls fired from a distance merely bounced off, earning her the nickname “Old Ironsides.” 

Constitution dismasting Guerriere

After several exchanges of fire, Constitution maneuvered within 25 yards and fired a devastating broadside (simultaneously firing all of the cannons on one side), which knocked down Guerriere’s mizzenmast (her rear-most mast).  The two ships collided and became entangled, but the angle allowed Constitution to continue to fire.  When they finally separated, the shock caused Guerriere’s remaining masts to fall, leaving her helpless.  After further pounding from Constitution, Guerriere finally surrendered, with more than a third of her crew killed or wounded.  The damage was so extensive that she was burned after her crew was removed, rather than being captured and incorporated into the U.S. Navy.

Constitution’s defeat of Guerriere was the first of a number of actions in which American frigates bested British forces – defeats which, while not really strategically significant, were a shock to British pride and a huge morale boost to the Americans.  Nevertheless, the Royal Navy continued to dominate the world’s oceans until it was finally overtaken by the United States Navy between World Wars I and II.

Tidbit – USS Constitution, launched in 1797, is the world's oldest commissioned naval vessel afloat.  Technically, HMS Victory (Admiral Nelson’s flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar), launched in 1765, is the oldest commissioned naval vessel, but it’s been in dry dock (i.e., out of the water) since 1922.