some one hundred yards. They h ad brailed up their courses and were preparing for bartle, as was Stewart. Their form ation becam e th eir undoin g. Constitution held the favo red weather gauge and ranged alongside the aftermost o f th e two enemy ships. Sh e turned out to be the large r of th e two, HMS Cyane, a frigate of 24 guns. The A m erican's m om entum carried h er sli ghtly ahead so she lay between th e two British ships. Stewart sent a ball between them , beginning the en gagement. A n exch ange of broadsides fo llowed . Ea rly in the fight, Constitution suffered two m en killed and, sadly, th e boat holding the two jaguar cubs was sm as hed to smithereens. D a rkness was fas t ap proaching and sm oke w reathed the ships and the seas between th em . Ta kingadva ntageofrhe poor visibility, Cyane lu ffed a nd altered course to try and pass under Stewart's stern for a rakingshot. TheAmerican capta in glimpsed their m ove and essentially sto pped his ship, preventing th e move and , simultaneously, commenced a heavy cannonade into the enem y. M a rin es, statio ned aloft, added musket fire to the fusill ade fo rcing the
British sailors and officers to " keep their h eads down." As Cyane staggered under the weight of A m erican m etal, the o ther British ship, Levant (18 guns), wore around to attempt to cross Constitution's bow and rake her from ahead. Stewart responded quickly, fillin g his sails and aga in preventing his enem y from gaining any advantage. H e offered Levant a couple of raking broad sides at almost point-blank range. The British ship sailed off to leeward in an attempt to escap e the galling fi re. The lookouts in Constitution h ailed the deck that Cyane was sh owin g signs of life, trying to get m oving and rejoin the battle. Stewart wore ship and offered his starboard battery to the enemy. Only fi fty ya rds separated the two sh ips. Seeing the position he was in, the captain of Cyane struck, an d Stewart sent a contingent of m arin es aboard to take possession. H e then wen t a fter the escaping Levant. Constitution's superior saili ng abilities, along w ith a significantly heavier weight of m etal, convinced th e British ca ptain that he, too, should surrender. Constitution, the premier fri ga te in rhe
A m erican fleet and the only US n aval ship at sea, h ad taken two enemy sh ips simultaneously, w h ile fi ghting m os t of the engagem ent in the dark! The three ships sailed in compa ny fo r the U S coast, but th ey ra n afoul of another British fleer, which re-captured Levant. Constitution returned to rhe U nited Stares w ith Cyane still her prize, to discover the war was already over. Cyane was absorbed into the America n Navy as USS Cyane.
.t
William H. White is a maritime historian and award-winning author specializing in the history of the Age of Sail. H e serves on the Bicentennial ofthe War of1812 and Star Spangled Banner Advisory Group, the Board of Trustees ofthe USS Constitution Museum in Boston, the Board of Trustees ofthe Lynx Educational Foundation, and the Board of Trustees of OpSail. H e acts as a consultant to the reproduction 1812 p rivateer Lyn x. A Corresponding Fellow of the Massachusetts H istorical Society, White has written seven books, both fiction and non-fiction, and uncounted magazine articles. For more about him and his books, visit www.seajiction.net.
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