captured the British sloop-of-war Alert in an eight minutes' fight and without losing a man.

Six days afterward a more equal and significant fight took place. The frigate Constitution, of forty-four guns, commanded by Captain Isaac Hull, met the 38-gun British frigate Guerrière in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The fight that followed lasted half an hour. Its results were surprising. At the end of that time the Guerrière had lost one hundred men; her masts and rigging were all gone; her hull was so cut up that the water was pouring in. The Constitution had lost but fourteen men and was still in fighting trim. The Guerrière was forced to surrender, and her crew had barely been taken off when she plunged to the bottom of the bay.

Other Naval Victories.-This unlooked-for success was followed by others. On October 13 the American sloop Wasp captured the British sloop Frolic. On the 25th the frigate United States captured the Macedonian. This ship was left almost in the condition of the Guerrière, while the United States lost but twelve men and was but little the worse for the encounter. On the 29th of December the Constitution, now under Captain Bainbridge, won another striking victory. Meeting the British frigate Java off the coast of Brazil, a two hours' contest followed. At the end of that time the Java was a total wreck, and had lost two hundred and thirty men. In February, 1813, the sloop Hornet met the British ship Peacock, and handled her so severely that she sank before her crew could be taken off.

Causes of the American Success.-In six months the Americans had taken more British ships than the French had done in twenty years, and had not lost one. This was due to several causes. The American vessels carried more men than the British, and these were mainly the hardy

fishermen of New England, men who had made the waves their homes. The ships were better built, the crews better disciplined, the gunners better marksmen. Heavier guns

were carried, and every shot told. There was no firing at random as in the British ships. The result of this superiority in men and equipment was the remarkable series of victories we have detailed.

"Don't Give Up the Ship."-On June 1, 1813, the British navy gained its first success. The Shannon captured

the Chesapeake near Boston harbor. Captain Lawrence of the Chesapeake was mortally wounded, and as he was carried below cried out, "Don't give up the ship!" But his vessel had entered the combat when in no proper fighting trim and was forced to yield.

Other Ocean Battles.-The Essex, under Captain Por

ter, cruised for a whole year in the Pacific, taking numbers of British merchantmen. In March, 1814, she was attacked by two British frigates in the harbor of Valparaiso and forced to surrender. This and the capture of the Chesapeake were the only British naval successes during the war. The last fight took place in February, 1815, after the war had ended. The glorious old Constitution, which had already won such fame, was attacked by two British vessels, the frigate Cyane and the sloop Levant, off the coast of Madeira, and after a forty minutes' action captured them both.

While the small American fleet was doing this remarkable service, the seas were swept by privateers, which during the war captured more than a thousand prizes. Many American merchant vessels were taken, but in this competition the British were largely the losers.

Perry on Lake Erie.-The naval battles of the war were not confined to the ocean. The control of Lake Erie became an important matter, and both sides prepared to contest it. In the summer of 1813 the British were masters of the lake, having on it a fleet of six ships with sixtythree guns. Captain Oliver Perry, a young officer who had never seen a naval battle, was sent to build a fleet and fight the foe. He did the first with extraordinary energy, cutting down forest-trees which in a few weeks were converted into ships. With these and some other vessels, nine in all, armed with fifty-four guns, he sailed in search of the British fleet. His flag-ship was named the Lawrence, and the flag at the mast-head bore Captain Lawrence's memorable words, "Don't give up the ship."

The fleets met on September 10. A fierce conflict ensued. The Lawrence fought two of the heaviest British vessels till it was badly cut up, while of its crew only eight

effective men were left. Then the indomitable Perry sprang into a boat and was rowed through a hot British fire to the

Niagara. With this new flag-ship he made a splendid

charge through the enemy's line, firing right and left into their shattered vessels, and in fifteen minutes more the victory was won.

.

"We have met the enemy and they are ours," was Perry's famous despatch. It roused the country like an electric charge. Enthusiasm everywhere ran high.

The Battle of the Thames.-Perry's victory saved the Northwest. On receiving the news of

it, General Harrison crossed into Canada, found the enemy in retreat, and completely defeated them on the river Thames. Proctor, the British commander, fled; his men surrendered; and Tecumseh, who led the Indian auxiliaries, was killed. Detroit was soon after recovered, and the war ended in the West.

Canada again Invaded.-In 1814 another attempt to invade Canada was made, by way of the Niagara River. By this time the army had been reorganized, the troops disciplined, and more able commanders chosen. General Winfield Scott won a brilliant victory at Chippewa on July 5. On July 25 another victory was won at Lundy's Lane.1 The invasion, however, yielded no useful results.

1 A battery, situated on a height, was the key to the British position. "Can you take that battery?" asked General Brown, calling Colonel

McDonough on Lake Champlain.-Later in the season, the British attempted an invasion of New York, following the often-tried line of Lake Champlain. It proved a disastrous failure, though General Prevost had under him twelve thousand of Wellington's veteran soldiers. The British fleet on the lake attacked the American squadron under McDonough (September 11), and was so badly beaten as to be nearly destroyed. Prevost, learning of this defeat, fled in such haste as to leave his sick and wounded and most of his stores behind.

The War on the Coast.-With this important American victory the war in the North ended, but meanwhile a campaign of plunder was being made on the Atlantic coast. Napoleon had been beaten and banished to Elba, and Europe once more was at peace. This left England free for the war in America, and a large fleet was sent across the sea, enough to blockade the whole coast from Maine to Florida.' Thousands of veterans from the European war were also sent.

It was proposed to invade the country on the north, the east, and the south. Prevost's invasion from the north, as we have seen, signally failed. On the east troops were landed and a number of towns were plundered. Stonington, Connecticut, was bombarded. Part of the coast of Maine was seized and held till the end of the war.

Washington Captured.—In July, 1814, a strong British fleet, conveying an army four thousand five hundred

Miller to his side. "I'll try, sir," was the modest answer. Miller won the battery and held the position against three desperate charges of the foe. His answer has become famous.

1 Commerce was so completely ruined that the lamps in the lighthouses were no longer lighted. They had become of use only to the enemy.