"I Shall 'Bring Home Two Frigates" Captain Charles Stewart and the Last Sea Battle of the War of 1812 by John A. Rodgaard
W
ith the cold air of late autumn settling in upon Boston in 1814, Captain C harles Stewart h ad ensured his comm and, the frigate Constitution , was ready for sea. The previous eleven months had proven frustrating for him. H e h ad taken his ship out to sea during the first fo ur months of 1814, only to return to port ea rly because of a sprung mai nmast. This did not bode well for Stewart; he found himself standin g before a court of inquiry that required him to answer to why he cut short h is ship's war cruise. Ultimately, he suffered on ly a reprimand and was sent back to his ship, but Stewart's problem s continued to mount throughout the summer months. No r only were provisions he needed in short supply, but recruiting the men required to effectively man his fri gate proved diffi culr. He was competing with privateers, who could offer higher pay and the chance to ea rn prize money. Stewart was even co mpeting for men within the navy itsel f. While he was actively seeking our crew to man his sh ip, Secretary of the Navy William Jones was paying bonuses to able sea men willing to serve on the Great Lakes. Stewart's troubles were further enhanced by the knowledge that the Royal Navy's blockade outside Boston Harbor would prevent his ship's departure. Nevertheless, in rime Constitution was mann ed and supplied and ready for sea when an opporru n ity to sneak out of the harbor wo u Id present itself. The day finally arrived. On 17 D ecember, wo rd came that the three Royal Navy wars hips that had been holding station outside the harbor were nowhere to be seen, and by the afternoon, Constitution was fin ally back at sea. The ship's chaplain , Ass heton Humphreys, recorded in his journal that all on board "felt no little degree of importance when the circumstance of our bei ng the only American fri gate at sea .. . We felt that the eyes of the country were upon us." 1 Stewart clearly felt the need to 1 The USS Constitution's Finest Fight, 1815: The journal of Acting Chaplain Assheton Humphreys, USN,
Ed. Co 111111 and erTyron Martin , USN (Rer.) (Mou nt Pleasant, SC: Na utical and Aviation Publ ishin g 0 111pany of Alllerica, 2000), 4.
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demonstrate that this cruise wo uld be more successful than the first, and he surely remembered his las t conve rsati on with his wife, Delia, before he depa rted. Stewart had asked her what she wa nted him to bring her on his return. Mrs. Stewart asked him for a British frigate. Her husband replied that he would bring her back two.
Captain Charles Stewart (1778-1869) Following the Secretary of the Navy's orders, Stewart sailed Constitution to a position in range of the convoy routes that led south from Ca nada to Bermuda and then on to the West Indies. Using a strategy of deception, he had a Red Ensign sent up the flag halyard and had his crew repaint the fri gate's white stripe around the gunports with the distinctive yellow band used by the Royal Navy. On C hri stmas Eve, he found his first success with the capture of the British brig Lord Nelson. Stewa rt continued southwards along the shipping lanes toward the West Indies in the first few weeks of 1815, fi nding nothing. W ith the seas devoid of British shipping, he altered course and headed toward the major shipping routes off Western Europe. The only vessels Constitution wo uld encounter were neutral Portuguese mercha ntmen. On 8 February, however, the winds of change blew upon Stewart and Constitution. Thar morning Stewart stopped and board-
ed the barque Julia, flying German colors. The captain was quick to inform the A merican naval commander that a peace treaty had been signed in Ghent, Belgium. This was rei cerated later that day when Constitution stopped a Russian brig at sea. Two Americans were aboard and they had newspapers with them reporting that peace had indeed been negotiated. No netheless, without official word, Stewart decided to continue with his war cruise. Stewart pressed on and by 10 February, the A merican frigate was just fifteen miles off Cape Finisrerre, Spain, hunting for prey. Sailing southwa rds along the Iberian Peninsula, Stewart kept his crew busy chasi ng unknown sa il in the shipping lanes, when, on 12 February, out of squally weather, they sighted a fri gate. Chaplain Humphreys made an amusing entry in his journal regarding the event. According to Humphreys, the ship's dog, a terrier n am ed Guerriere, was playing on the heels of "the ship's first lieutenant and myself.. .all unconscious of any craft near us... G uerriere jumped upon the hammock clothes and stretching his head to windward began to bark most vehemently; upon look ing to discover what had attracted his notice lo and behold! There was a great frigare." 2 The unidentified ship dropped astern of Constitution and Stewa rt rook up the chase. They beat to quarters and cleared for ac tion only to discover that the frigate in question was Portuguese. On 16 February, Constitution was just off the Rock of Lisbon when Stewart received news from a passing Portuguese ship char the fri gate HMS Voluntaire with the Duke of Bedford and his family onboard was en route to Britain from Lisbon . They spent the day chasing down various vessels but fo und no Duke of Bedford. A few days later, on 19 February, Stewart ran across a British merchantman carrying hides and tallow from Buenos Ai res. The Susan was quickly seized and sent off to New York. The next day began wi th moderate breezes and hazy cloud-filled skies. Constitution was heading north on a starboard tack under easy sa il. With the Iberian 2rbid, 20-2 1.
SEA HISTORY 150, SPRING 2015