- Today, the USS Constitution may be the most famous and celebrated ship in the history of the U.S. Navy. Popular lore states she earned her nickname, "Old Ironsides," when an American crewman, watching British cannonballs bounce off the Constitution's hull, exclaimed, "Her sides are made of iron!" The HMS Guerriere was a French-built ship captured by the British in 1806.
- Nicholas Tracy, in his book "The Naval Chronicle: 1811-1815," says, "This was the first-ever engagement between a British frigate and an American super-frigate. The Constitution was quite a shock to the Royal Navy." Indeed, for it was nearly double that of the Guerriere in both physical size, firepower and manpower. 450 seamen manned the Constitution.
Searching off the coast of Nova Scotia for a British frigate rumored to be in the area, USS Constitution Commanding Officer Isaac Hull spotted the HMS Guerriere on the afternoon of Aug. 19, 1812. James Dacres, captain of the English ship, noted the American pursuit and dropped sail, waiting for the Americans to catch up. The English were the first to fire, and the Constitution returned fire, with little damage to either side.
Over the next 15 minutes, the American artillery found its range, causing considerable damage as the English mizzenmast fell into the ocean, disabling the Guerriere's maneuverability. The Guerriere's foremast and mainmast then fell as the Constitution pulled away. Hopelessly damaged, Captain Dacres signaled surrender. - With the Guerriere dead in the water, Hull dispatched Lieutenant George Read to head a boarding party and verify the British surrender. Captain Dacres again admitted defeat and was brought aboard the Constitution to meet with Hull. In his book "1812: The War That Forged a Nation," author Walter Borneman says Hull refused the offer of Dacres' sword, stating he would not take the sword of one who had fought so well. Hull also reportedly asked Dacres if he wished for anything from the Guerriere to be retrieved. "Yes," replied Dacres. "My mother's Bible." The American captain ordered it brought aboard.
With the masts of the HMS Guerriere broken, and the vessel taking on large amounts of water, Hull decided the ship was irreparably damaged and ordered it destroyed. The Guerriere would have been an exciting prize to tow into the port of Boston, but 15 minutes after American crewmen set the French-turned-British frigate ablaze, it exploded and sunk to the floor of the Atlantic Ocean. - American casualties were seven killed and seven wounded. The British suffered 15 killed and 78 wounded. Evidence of one of the War of 1812's chief causes, the impressment of American merchant seamen, was discovered with 10 Americans found aboard the Guerriere. None was wounded.
- Captain Dacres was court-martialed upon his return to England, but acquitted, blaming the defeat on a claim of shoddy ship-building by the vessel's French makers. Captain Hull became a hero as American morale skyrocketed, with the victory instilling pride in the U.S. Navy.
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