War of 1812, Part 22: American Frigates Shock British

The New Nation
Written By Tom Hand

On August 19, 1812, lookouts on the USS Constitution, commanded by Captain Isaac Hull, spotted the HMS Guerriere sailing alone 500 miles southeast of Halifax. As the ships came together in this first ever frigate-on-frigate engagement between the United States and British navies, the Constitution poured broadside after broadside into the Guerriere, devastating the British ship. Later that fall, Captain Stephen Decatur in the USS United States came upon the HMS Macedonian, commanded by Captain John Carden near the Azores, and crippled the ship in battle, forcing Carden to surrender. And finally, in December, the Constitution, this time under the command of Captain William Bainbridge, destroyed the HMS Java off the Brazilian coast in quick fashion.

Tom Hand, creator and publisher of Americana Corner, discusses how, during the first six months of the War of 1812, the United States Navy destroyed three British frigates in single-ship combat and why it still matters today.

Images courtesy of Naval History and Heritage Command, National Portrait Gallery - Smithsonian Institution, National Gallery of Art, USS Constitution Museum, Library of Congress, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Canada War Museum, Wikimedia. 

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Tom Hand
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