The captain of the _Constitution_, when the war broke out, was Isaac
Hull, a nephew of General William Hull, who made the cowardly surrender
of Detroit. He was born in Connecticut in 1773, and died in 1843. He was
one of the brilliant young officers who received his commission in 1798,
and was commander of the _Argus_ during the war with Tripoli. He was
made a captain in 1806, and the following year was given command of the
_Constitution_.

Upon learning that the war had broken out, Captain Hull left the
Chesapeake, with orders to join the squadron under the command of
Captain Rodgers at New York. When off Barnegat, New Jersey, he was
sighted by the blockading squadron of Captain Philip Bowes Vere Broke,
which gave chase. The ingenuity and skill displayed by Captain Hull in
escaping from the enemy, when all escape seemed hopeless, is still
referred to as one of the most remarkable exploits in the history of the
American navy. The chase lasted for more than two days and three nights,
and it is safe to say that very few commanders placed in the situation
of Captain Hull would have been able to save themselves from capture.

Captain Hull sailed on a cruise from Boston on August 21, just in time
to dodge an order from Washington to remain in port until further
orders. On the afternoon of August 19, when several hundred miles to the
eastward of Halifax, he sighted the British frigate _Guerriere_. Her
commander, Captain James E. Dacres, was an old acquaintance of Hull, and
the two had made a wager of a hat during peace that if they ever met in
battle the other would run.

The British officer was as anxious as Hull for a fight, and they drew
near each other, both confident of winning the wager made half in jest