Within a few days Stewart's lookouts reported a sail. Thinking it might be a straggler from a British convoy, Stewart went to investigate and found a damaged schooner showing the signal for distress. As Constitution approached, Stewart had the British fl.ag hoisted. Now close aboard, he hove to and the un fortunate schooner (little did they know just how unfortunate they were!) sent over a boat wi th the ship's papers. The Americans discovered that the schooner was the Lord Nelson and had been damaged in the same storm that h ad made life in Constitution so miserable. Stewart put a prize crew aboard, hoisted the American fl.ag (to the horror of the Brirish captain), and sai led in company with the captured schooner after the rest of the convoy. As it turned out, the capture was most fortuitous for Constitution; the schooner was well provisioned and her cargo consisted of foodstuffs of every imaginable stripe: dried and corned beef, fish (both salted and smoked), fruits, sugar, spirits, tea, and fl.our. Truly a bonanza for the poorly stocked American frigate! The cargo was quickly transferred to Constitution and struck below, and the schooner scuttled as she was of no further use. They continued on, still in search of the rest of the convoy. They saw several ships, but foul weather precluded bringing them to. January proved an unproductive month, but on 8 February Captai n Stewart spoke a neutral ship, the barque Julia bound to Lisbon, a nd heard the rumor of a peace treaty between England and the Uni[ed States. Later tha[ same day, Stewart boarded a Russian sh ip and [he rumor was confirmed as fact. Of course, the treaty had only been agreed to by the negotiators, not approved and signed by their respective governments. Until it was ratified, the two countries were still technically at war. Constitution continued her patrol , approaching C ape Finisterre in big winds and rough seas. And the winter weather in the North Atlantic was cold, so cold that staying topside for any length of time became arduous. The lookouts were slacking off anda near miss with a Portuguese frigate could have proved disastrous. Fortunately, the ship's dog, a terrier named Guerriere, saw the ship from his
SEA HISTORY 141, WINTER 20 12- 13
perch on top of a carronade and began to point, the mark of a fine hunting dog. The quarterdeck watch then saw that the dog was pointing and called the crew to quarters (battle stations). They could no t identify the warship bearing down under full sail from the windward side; she offered no fl.ag and no signal. It took several shots from the weather deck carronades to elicit a response from the stranger, which turned out to be Portuguese. Fortunately, no damage was done to either ship, and, after a brief shouted conversation (the sea was too rough for either to board), the two went on their way. By mid-month, Constitution had found and captured a British cargo vessel, bound for Liverpool from South America and loaded with a valuable cargo of hides and furs. Additionally, they carried two yo ung w ild cats-most likely South American
of several merchant vessels, h ad not gone unnoticed; Stewart's lookouts had seen no enemy ships, but he knew it would be only a matter of time before they came out to investigate. On 20 February in the early afternoo n, a full-rigged ship was espied heading towards Constitution from the larboard (port) bow. Shortly after that, another ship became visible beyond the first one. They all closed for some two hours and, clearly visible to Stewart's lookouts, the two unknowns began signaling one another before turning to the south, apparently to join forces. Stewart was confident the ships were British and crowded on sail in chase. He assumed, he wrote later, that they signaled each other to remain together so as to combine forces; while neither ship alo ne had a cha nce of taking a heavy frigate, together they might prevail.
The Capture of HM Ships Cyane and Levant, by the US Frigate Constitution
by Thomas Birch depicts the American frigate engaging Levant (Left) and Cyane (right). jaguar cubs. Stewart took the cargo into Constitution, including the two cub s, which he secured in one of his boats. His prize in company, he sailed south , hoping to find a way to get the captured ship to an American port. Several days later, he crossed tacks w ith a Portuguese merchant ship and placed the captured sailors aboard her. He then had his prize crew sail the ship to America. They arrived safely. Constitution's presence off Gibraltar, a major British base, along with her captures
During the chase, Constitution, with every stitch of canvas set, suffered a small setback; her main royal mast (above the topmast and t'gallanr mast) cracked and then fell. Quickly, Stewart sent men aloft to cut away the damaged spar and send up a new one. His ski lled crew had the repair effected and the ship back under full sail in only an hour, and, once again, they were closing on the two British ships. The two had indeed joined forces and now sailed in a line astern, separated by
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