fire was much more harmless than it would have been if she had
kept more steady." [Footnote: Lord Howard Douglass, "Treatise on
Naval Gunnery" (London, 1851), p. 454.] The _Constitution_ was
handled faultlessly; Captain Hull displayed the coolness and skill
of a veteran in the way in which he managed, first to avoid being
raked, and then to improve the advantage which the precision and
rapidity of his fire had gained. "After making every allowance
claimed by the enemy, the character of this victory is not essentially
altered. Its peculiarities were a fine display of seamanship in the
approach, extraordinary efficiency in the attack, and great readiness
in repairing damages; all of which denote cool and capable officers,
with an expert and trained crew; in a word, a disciplined man-of-war."
[Footnote: Cooper, ii. 173.] The disparity of force, 10 to 7, is
not enough to account for the disparity of execution, 10 to 2. Of
course, something must be allowed for the decayed state of the
Englishman's masts, although I really do not think it had any
influence on the battle, for he was beaten when the main mast fell;
and it must be remembered, on the other hand, that the American
crew was absolutely new, while the _Guerriere_ was manned by old
hands. So that, while admitting and admiring the gallantry, and,
on the whole, the seamanship of Captain Dacres and his crew, and
acknowledging that he fought at a great disadvantage, especially
in being short-handed, yet all must acknowledge that the combat
showed a marked superiority, particularly in gunnery, on the part
of the Americans. Had the ships not come foul, Captain Hull would
probably not have lost more than three or four men; as it was, he
suffered but slightly. That the _Guerriere_ was not so weak as she
was represented to be can be gathered from the fact that she mounted
two more main-deck guns than the rest of her class; thus carrying
on her main-deck 30 long 18-pounders in battery, to oppose to the