lee quarter-gallery. [Footnote: Cooper, in "Putnam's Magazine."
i. 475.] The Englishman's bow guns played havoc with Captain Hull's
cabin, setting fire to it; but the flames were soon extinguished
by Lieutenant Hoffmann. On both sides the boarders were called
away; the British ran forward, but Captain Dacres relinquished
the idea of attacking [Footnote: Address of Captain Dacres to the
court-martial at Halifax.] when he saw the crowds of men on the
American's decks. Meanwhile, on the _Constitution_, the boarders
and marines gathered aft, but such a heavy sea was running that
they could not get on the _Guerriere_. Both sides suffered heavily
from the closeness of the musketry fire; indeed, almost the entire
loss on the _Constitution_ occurred at this juncture. As Lieutenant
Bush, of the marines, sprang upon the taffrail to leap on the
enemy's decks, a British marine shot him dead; Mr. Morris, the
first Lieutenant, and Mr. Alwyn, the master, had also both leaped
on the taffrail, and both were at the same moment wounded by the
musketry fire. On the _Guerriere_ the loss was far heavier, almost
all the men on the forecastle being picked off. Captain Dacres
himself was shot in the back and severely wounded by one of the
American mizzen topmen, while he was standing on the starboard
forecastle hammocks cheering on his crew [Footnote: James, vi,
144.]; two of the lieutenants and the master were also shot down.
The ships gradually worked round till the wind was again on the
port quarter, when they separated, and the _Guerriere's_ foremast
and main-mast at once went by the board, and fell over on the
starboard side, leaving her a defenseless hulk, rolling her
main-deck guns into the water. [Footnote: Brenton, v, 51.] At
6.30 the _Constitution_ hauled aboard her tacks, ran off a little
distance to the eastward, and lay to. Her braces and standing and
running rigging were much cut up and some of the spars wounded,