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ahead of the aftermost ship- HMS Cyane of 22 guns-and was now abeam the leader, a 20-gun sloop of wa r, HMS Levant. Glancing as tern at Cyane, Stewart could see that the light friga te was maneuvering to close upon the American's stern. If she managed to bring her carronades to bear, Cyane's "smashers" wou ld rip through his ship's stern gallery and down her entire length with devas tating affect. Stewart ordered another full broadside into the lead vessel and immediately thereafter ordered his main and mizzen topsails aback. This maneuver halted her forward momentum and even got the frigate moving astern. Another broadside was unleashed into Levant, causing heavy damage upon the luckless corvette. Cyane was by then ahead of Constitution and attempted to steer back and position herself across the bows of the American. Stewart countered by ordering the helm h ard to port and the lee braces manned. Amid the choking smoke and the deafening sounds of battle, Stewart's crew ably swung Constitution's topsail yard s around to get sailing again. The ship leapt forward and sailed ahead, between the British ships. Constitution fired her starboard guns into Levant's stern. O ut of control, Levant faded from view and into the darkness, as the American frigate continued turning to port and toward Cyane. Cyane's captain, Gordon Thomas Falcon, was desperately trying to position his vessel across Constitution's bow, but Stewart continued to swing his frigate to port, crossing under Cyane's starboard stern. Outmaneuve red again and with the two ships only fifty yards apart, Falcon struck his colors. At 6:45rM Cyane was finished . By 8PM, Captain Falcon and his officers had been brought over to the Constitution. With a prize crew aboard Cyane, Stewa rt ordered borh ships ro search for the fleeing Levant. The Levant was hardly fleeing, however. Captain George Douglas, having brought his heavily damaged ship and shaken crew under control, was navigating his vessel back toward the action with the intention of returning to the fight. As Constitution sailed west, our of the darkness came the Levant, and Stewart found his ship closing the plucky Brit bow to bow. Around 8:40PM, the two sh ips passed
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~:t=. ~·-·· _··_··_·_,.~_.._·~~ ~~·~\"-------------""""""'"""-------------' ~ USS Constitution was cruising off the Iberian Peninsula when she encountered the Royal Navy ships Cyane and Levant. When the battle was over, Stewart took his prizes first to a quiet anchorage in the Cape Verde Islands before heading across the Atlantic to New York.
starboard ro starboard at a range of just fift y yards and exch anged broadsides. Douglas turned Levant to port and began to run with the wind. Stewart turned Constitution ro sta rboard and fell in behind the fleeing vessel. With Constitution now piling on more canvas, she soon narrowed the gap between them. Recognizing that he wo uld not escape, Capta in Douglas struck his colors, hove to, and fired a single gun to leeward. Stewart sailed his ship and rwo prizes to St. Jago (now known as Santiago) in the Cape Verde Islands and anchored there on 7 March. Four days later, three Royal Navy ships stumbled upon them and successfully recaptured the Levant, denying Stewart his opportunity to return to the United States with two prizes. Nonetheless, he eventually sailed into New York Harbor to a hero's welcome. Stewart and his men wo uld later receive both prize money and Congressionally mandated medals-gold for Stewart and silver for his officers. So ended this remarkable ac tion. It would be the last victo ry for the Americans in the War of 1812, and USS Constitution's las t battle. Nor to rake away from Charles Stewart's achievement, bur the fight against the Cyane and Levant was truly one-sided. Stewart had the advantage of a larger, superbly built ship, powerful long-range firepower, and a highly trained crew. Combined with Stewart's leadership, masterful shiphandling, and seasoned tactical skills, Constitution clearly had the advantage. The findings at Captai n Douglas's court martial came to the same conclusion. "The court is of the opinion that the cap ture of
the Levant is to be attributed to the ve ry superior force of rhe enemy's ship, aided by his superior sailing."4 Captain Falcon's co urt martial concluded the same. Charles Stewart was USS Constitution's most successful fighting captain, and through his sixty- two years of service in the US Navy, was perhaps the most influential naval officer in its first half century, ye t, remarkably, his name and history are largely unknown. ,!, Joh n Rodgaard is a retired US Navy captain and naval intelligence officer. This article is adapted from his book, co-written with Claude Berube, A Call to rhe Sea: Captain Charles Stewa rt of the USS Constitution (Potomac Books, An Imprint of the University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, NE, 2 005, ISBN" 978-1-57488-518-7). About the artist (image, page 17): Patrick O'Brien's striking paintings capture the glory and grandeur of the Age ofSail. H is awardwinning artwork has appeared in books, posters, billboards, and magazines, including several times on the cover of Sea History. In 2 012 The National Maritime H istorical Society recognized O'Brien with the D istinguished Service Awardfor his body ofartwork. Patrick O'Brien is available fo r commissioned works. Visit his website at www.Patrick OBrienStudio. com. 4Record of the Court Martial of Captain, The Honourable George Douglas, Late Commander of HMS Levant, held onboard HMS Akbar, at Halifax on 28 June 18 15. File of Naval Records Collection (Atlantic and Mediterranean) , J 775-1910, The National Archives, Wash ingto n, DC.
SEA HISTORY 150, SPRING 2015