The Complete Works. Henry Cabot Lodge
a broadside.
In 1815 the Pilot, throwing 262 lbs., fought a draw with the Egerie throwing 260.
In 1814 two frigates of the force of the Tagus fought a draw with two frigates of the force of the Ceres; and the Eurotas, with 24-pounders failed to capture the Chlorinde, which had only 18-pounders. In 1815 the Amelia fought a draw with the Arethuse, the ships throwing respectively 549 and 463 lbs., according to the English, or 572 and 410 lbs., according to the French accounts. In spite of being superior in force the English ship lost 141 men, and the French but 105. This was a bloodier fight than even that of the Chesapeake with the Shannon; but the gunnery was, nevertheless, much worse than that shown by the two combatants in the famous duel off Boston harbor, one battle lasting four hours and the other 15 minutes.
There were a number of other engagements where the British were successful but where it is difficult to compare the forces. Twice a 74 captured or destroyed two frigates, and a razee performed a similar feat. An 18-gun brig, the Weasel, fought two 16-gun brigs till one of them blew up.
The loss of the two navies at each other's hands during the four years was:—
| English Ships. | French Ships. |
| 1 16-gun brig | 3 line-of-battle ships |
| 1 12-gun brig | 11 frigates |
| 1 10-gun cutter | 2 26-gun flûtes |
| 2 16-gun brigs | |
| 1 10-gun brig | |
| many gun-boats, etc. |
Or one navy lost three vessels, mounting 38 guns, and the other 19 vessels, mounting 830 guns.
During the same time the English lost to the Danes one 14-gun brig, and destroyed in return a frigate of 46 guns, a 6-gun schooner, a 4-gun cutter, two galliots and several gun-brigs.
In the above lists it is to be noticed how many of the engagements were indecisive, owing chiefly to the poor gunnery of the combatants. The fact that both the Eurotas and the Amelia, though more powerfully armed and manned than the Hebrus, yet failed to capture the sister ships of the frigate taken by the latter, shows that heavy metal and a numerous crew are not the only elements necessary for success; indeed the Eurotas and Amelia were as superior in force to their antagonists as the Constitution was to the Java.
But the chief point to be noticed is the overwhelming difference in the damage the two navies caused each other. This difference was, roughly, as five to one against the Danes, and as fifty to one against the French; while it was as four to three in favor of the American. These figures give some idea of the effectiveness of the various navies. At any rate they show that we had found out what the European nations had for many years in vain striven to discover—a way to do more damage than we received in a naval contest with England.
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