The War of 1812 199more powerfully armed than their British counter-
parts. Barely two months after the declaration of war,
Captain Isaac Hull of the USS Constitutionchanced
upon the HMS Guerrière mid-Atlantic, outmaneu-
vered the Guerrière brilliantly, brought down its
mizzenmast with his first volley, and then gunned it
into submission, a hopeless wreck. In October the
USSUnited States, captained by Stephen Decatur,
hero of the war against the Barbary pirates, caught the
HMS Macedonian off the Madeiras, pounded it
unmercifully at long range, and forced the British ship
to surrender. The Macedonianwas taken into New
London as a prize; over a third of the 300-man crew
were casualties, while American losses were but a
dozen. Then, in December, the Constitution, now
under Captain William Bainbridge, took on the British
frigateJava off Brazil. “Old Ironsides” shot away
Java’s mainmast and reduced it to a hulk too battered
for salvage.
These victories had little influence on the outcome
of the war. The Royal Navy had thirty-four frigates,
seven more powerful ships of the line, and dozens of
smaller vessels. As soon as these forces could concentrate
against them, the American frigates were immobilized,
forced to spend the war gathering barnacles at their
moorings while powerful British squadrons ranged off-
shore. The privateering merchantmen were more effec-
tive because they were so numerous; they captured
more than 1,300 British vessels
during the war. The best of
them—vessels like the America
and the True-Blooded Yankee—
were redesigned, given more sail
to increase their speed, and for-
midably armed. The America
captured twenty-six prizes val-
ued at more than a million dol-
lars. The True-Blooded Yankee
took twenty seven vessels and
destroyed seven more in a
Scottish harbor.
Great Britain’s one weak
spot seemed to be Canada.
The colony had but half a
million inhabitants to oppose
7.5 million Americans. Only
2,257 British regulars guarded
the long border from Montréal
to Detroit. The Canadian mili-
tia was feeble, and many of its
members, being American-
born, sympathized with the
“invaders.” According to the
War Hawk congressman Henry
Clay of Kentucky, the West was
one solid horde of ferocious
frontiersmen, armed to the teeth and thirsting for
Canadian blood. Yet such talk was mostly brag and
bluster; when Congress authorized increasing the army
by 25,000 men, Kentucky produced 400 enlistments.
American military leadership proved extremely
disappointing. Madison showed poor judgment by
relying on officers who had served with distinction
in the Revolution. Instead of a concentrated strike
against Canada’s St. Lawrence River lifeline, which
would have isolated Upper Canada, the generals
planned a complicated three-pronged attack. It
failed dismally. In July 1812 General William Hull,
veteran of the battles of Trenton, Saratoga, and
Monmouth and now governor of the Michigan
Territory, marched forth with 2,200 men against
the Canadian positions facing Detroit. Hoping that
the Canadian militia would desert, he delayed his
assault, only to find his communications threatened
by hostile Indians led by Tecumseh. Hastily he
retreated to Detroit, and when the Canadians,
under General Isaac Brock, pursued him, he surren-
dered the fort without firing a shot! In October
another force attempted to invade Canada from
Fort Niagara. After an initial success it was crushed
by superior numbers, while a large contingent of
New York militiamen watched from the east bank of
the Niagara River, unwilling to fight outside their
own state.The U.S.S.Constitution, restored in 1997.