tressing and discouraging circumstances, lieutenant Chadds could not bring his mind to the idea of sur rendering his majesty's ship; and the same feeling pervaded his crew; not that even the most sanguine could expect to preserve her, or that the most consummate skill or courage could have been of the least avail to this effect. But they fought long after hope deserted them; and every minute their situation became more desperate. For a short time, indeed, a faint glimmering of hope dawned on them: but it seemed only destined to render their ultimate fate more distressing. Soon after four o'clock, the mizen-mast was shot away; and this circumstance, which at first, to all appearance, was only calculated to render the Java a more complete wreck, by making her fall off a little, enabled her to bring many of her starboard guns to bear: at the same time the enemy, having suffered considerably in her tigging, shot a-head; and thus the two ships were fairly brought broadside to broadside. It was at this time and by this circumstance that the hopes of the gallant crew of the Java revived a little: they flattered themselves, that as now they should continue the battle on more equal terms, the issue of it would not be unfortunate: and anxiously laying hold of this idea, they called up all their skill and courage and indeed for some time they were availing; for the enemy, suffering dreadfully from the fire of the Java, now brought to bear upon him, found it necessary to make sail out of gun-shot, where he continued an hour repairing his damages. But unfortunately the Java could not take advantage of this circumstance, as : she was now an unmanageable wreck, with only the main-mast left, and that on the point of falling every exertion and endeavour however was made to place her in a condition to sustain the renewed attack; but as they were putting her before the wind, the main-mast fell over the side, and covered nearly the whole of the starboard guns. In this state, the enemy having repaired the damage he had sustained, they were compelled to await his approach: it was soon ascertained that his object was to take such a position a-head, as would enable him effectually to rake the Java; while the latter could not possibly either defend herself or escape from his fire. Under these circumstances, lieutenant Chadds consulted the officers, who agreed with him, that a great part of the crew being killed or wounded, all the masts gone, and several guns rendered useless, they could not be justified in wasting the lives of the survivers, by any longer defending his majesty's ship. Accordingly, in consequence of this opinion, with great reluctance, at fifty minutes past five their colours were lowered from the stump of the mizen-mast; and the Java was taken possession of by the American frigate Constitution, commo. dore Bainbridge. The brave crew of the Java, however, had the satisfaction to perceive that they had fought their ship so well that she was not in a condition to be preserved as a trophy of American victory; for commodore Bainbridge immediately on ascertaining her state ordered her to be burnt. The loss of both ships was very great; but that of the Java, from the circumstances of the engagement, much more considerable than that of the Con stitution. stitution. Captain Lambert survived till the 4th of January, when he died at Salvador in the Brazils, The Constitution suffered severely in her rigging; and it was some time before she was in a condition again to put to sea, Before offering any remarks on this engagement, it will be proper to state the relative force of the Constitution and Java: the latter had twenty-eight long eighteenpounders; sixteen carronades, thirty-two pounders; and two long nine pounders, in all forty-six guns: her weight of metal was 1,034 pounds her ship's company and supernumeraries amounted to 377 men. The Constitution had thirtytwo long twenty-four pounders; twenty-two carronades, thirty-two pounders; and one carronade, eighteen pounder, in all fifty-five guns: her weight of metal was 1,490 pounds: her crew consisted of 480 men. a From this statement it is abundantly evident that there was great disparity of force; and had not both vessels been classed under the same rank and called by the same name, probably little surprise or mortification would have been felt at the result of the engagement. From the detail which we have given of it, there can be no doubt that the Java was fought with very commendable bravery, and that she was not surrendered till it would have been madness any longer to have attempted to defend her. But the same remark may be made with respect to this engagement which we offered on the engagements which took place during 1812, between our frigates and those of the Americans: they seem to have manoeuvred their vessels with more skill than our sailors did; and this circumstance appears to us more surprising and unaccountable, than would have been even decided proofs of their superior maritime bravery. One cause of it may perhaps be traced in the construction of their ships, which are undoubtedly better built for quick sailing and easy manage. ment than ours in general are. Those who regarded these repeated naval triumphs of the Ame ricans with the most gloomy and desponding apprehensions, antici pated and predicted from them the utter annihilation, in the breasts of our seamen, of that proud confi. dence which had hitherto been so eminently serviceable in leading them on to victory. But more phi losophical or more candid and impartial people drew other inferences: they said that British seamen would be anxious to wipe off the stain from their character; that in future they would go into battle with American ships certainly with a more just and a higher estimate of their opponents' skill and bravery, but at the same time with a fixed and glowing determination, that the sceptre of the ocean should not be wrested from Britain by any failing or misma nagement of theirs: and proudly and happily for this country, such was the fact. The commanders of our frigates on the American sta tion, instead of being anxious to avoid any future rencontre with the enemy in consequence of what had happened, seemed, on the contrary, to court a trial of strength, in the hopes that they were destined to raise the British naval character to its former rank; and the commanders of our frigates on that station succeeded in infusing their own sentiments and feelings into the breasts of their crews. Two of our frigates, the Tenedos, captain : captain Parker, and the Shannon, captain Broke, had been cruising in the bay of Boston from the middle of February to the middle of May, in hopes that the Chesapeake would come out of Boston harbour; but the enemy not choosing to run the risk of encountering two British frigates, captain Broke directed captain Parker, in the Tenedos, to cruise off a different part of the coast, and not to rejoin him till after the expiration of a month. In order that captain Lawrence of the Chesapeake might learn the separation of the vessels, and be induced in consequence to put to sea, the Shannon stood close in to Boston light-house the Chesapeake was here observed lying at anchor, ready for sea: upon this the British colours were hoisted on board the Shannon, and she hove-to near the land. This was meant for a challenge to the Americans; and captain Lawrence was not slow in accepting it for at nine o'clock on the morning of the 1st of June the enemy's frigate was observed to loosen her sails, and fire a gun soon after twelve, she weighed anchor, and stood out of the harbour. On this, the Shannon edged off, and was followed by the Chesapeake. About twenty minutes after five o'clock the two vessels were within musket-shot of one another. It is scarcely possible to conceive a more interesting or awful moment than this. The engagement which was about to commence, had few features in common with the usual and routine sea fights: there was, on the contrary, something chivalrous in it each commander, as well as their respective crews, had offered themselves as champions of their country's glory and honour; and by this feeling it may be sup posed the Americans were more particularly influenced, as the engagement was about to commence within sight of their own shores: their countrymen, still glowing with the remembrance of their naval triumphs over Britain, would be witnesses of all that passed, and would be grievously disappointed, if another British frigate were not added to the list of the American navy. Captain Broke and his crew, on their part, must have experi enced feelings equally stimulating to heroic enterprise: they had now an opportunity of proving to the world, that the sun of England's naval glory was not yet set; they had not merely to sustain, they had in some measure to retrieve and win back the glory and honour of their country; they had to prove themselves worthy of that country which had given birth to Nelson; and they did prove themselves worthy of it. At The American frigate was manoeuvred, as she advanced against the Shannon, with so much skill, that for some time it was extremely doubtful on which side of the ship she intended to engage. half past five, however, she luffedup on the Shannon's weather quarter; and as soon as her fore-mast came on a line with the mizen-mast of the latter, the Shannon fired her after guns, and her others successively, till the enemy came directly abreast, when the Chesapeake fired her whole broadside, which the Shannon immediately returned: and thus broadside to broadside the action commenced. In the short space of five minutes the enemy's frigate fell on board the Shannon. Captain Broke immediately determined to take advantage of this circumstance, and if possible possible to bring the engagement to an immediate and a glorious issue. Accordingly, ordering up the boarders, he put himself at their head, and from his quarter-deck entered the Chesapeake; while those seamen that were on the tops entered at the same time. The Americans fought well; but nothing could withstand the impetuous bravery of the British; they seemed animated with more than British courage: they had now their enemy close to them; and they were determined to prove to them, that British seamen only needed to be placed in this situation, where they could come at their foe, and where bravery alone could be brought into action, to be speedily and completely victorious. In eleven minutes from the commencement of the action, the three ensigns which the American frigate had flying were hauled down, and soon afterwards replaced with the English flag flying over them; her decks were cleared of the dead; the wounded taken below; and she was completely in possession of the Shannon. In the very moment of victory captain Broke was severely wounded in his head by a sabre, while exerting himself to save two Americans from the fury of his men. Captain Lawrence of the Chesapeake was also wounded, and died soon after he was landed at Halifax, into which port the captured vessel was taken. The respect due to a brave enemy was shown to his remains: the body was landed under a discharge of minute guns: the American ensign was spread as a pall over the coffin, on which his sword was placed: the officers of the Chesapeake followed as mourners: the governor, his staff, and the officers of the garri son as well as the officers of the navy attended the funeral, and three volleys were discharged by the troops over the grave. During the whole of this memorable engagement, a great number of vessels and boats of every description, filled with spectators, were cruising near Boston; and it is said that captain Lawrence was so confident of victory, that he informed the inhabitants of that town, they might expect his return to the harbour in about two hours and a half from the time of his departure, with the Shannon; and that he desired a sumptuons dinner might be prepared for himself and his crew. The capture of the Chesapeake, under such animating and glorious circumstances, could not fail, in some degree, to re-establish in the minds, even of the desponding, their confidence in British naval valour and skill; and an engagement which took place in the month of August, though not of such a brilliant nature, nor brought to a vic torious issue so easily and speedily, contributed to the same effect. Captain Maples, of his majesty's sloop Pelican, had been ordered by vice-admiral Thornborough to cruize in St. George's channel for the protection of the trade, and to obtain information respecting an American sloop of war which was supposed to be somewhere in the channel. The commander and crew of the Pelican, knowing the foe they were sent out to meet and encounter, prepared their minds accordingly, and were extremely anxious to fall in with her. On the morning of the 14th of August they observed a vessel on fire, and a brig standing from her: the latter they suspected to be the vessel that that they were in quest of; and their suspicions were soon confirmed. All sail was immediately made in chase: but for this there was no occasion, as the American instead of declining the combat slackened sail, and was observed to be making herself clear for an obstinate resistance. As soon as the Pelican came along side of her, the British seamen gave three cheers, and the action commenced; for 43 minutes it was kept up with great spirit on both sides; and though during this time the Pelican evidently had the advantage, yet it was by no means of a decisive nature, as the American brig was fought not only with great bravery but with very superior skill. Captain Maples, however, finding his crew anxious to come to close quarters with his opponents, laid the Pelican along side, and gave orders to board her; but when they were in the very act of boarding she struck her colours. She proved to be the United States sloop of war Argus, of 360 tons; 18 twenty-four pounder carronades, and 2 long twelve pounders: she had been on a two months cruize, and when she left America she had a complement of 149 men, but in the action only 127. Her commander fought his ship nobly, and was wounded early in the action so severely that he was obliged to suffer amputation of his left thigh. In point of force the Pelican and the Argus were nearly equal, though the latter had more men on board; the Pelican having a complement only of 116. Perhaps the circumstance which most strongly indicates the relative skill with which this battle was fought, is the loss of the Pelican when compared with the loss which the enemy sustained: on board the former there was only one man slain and six wound ed, while on board of the latter there were 40 killed and wounded. But the absolute and undoubted superiority of the British by sea, was not yet put on such a firm footing as not to be liable in their engagements with the Americans sometimes to give way; and those who from the result of the action between the Shannon and the Chesapeake looked for victory as a matter of course, whenever the vessels were nearly of equal force, were soon to be cruelly disappointed. While the United States brig Enterprize, commanded by lieutenant Burrows, was cruizing off the American coast, they descried a brig at anchor in shore, towards whom they immediately made sail; this was his Britannic majesty's brig Boxer, commanded by captain Blyth. The English commander as soon as he observed the American vessel standing towards him weighed anchor; and, having ascertained that she was an enemy, stood out to meet her. At half past eight o'clock the Boxer fired a shot as a challenge, and hoisted three English ensigns, which captain Blyth ordered to be nailed to the mast the engagement however did not commence for some time, in consequence of its falling calm: during this period of suspense every preparation was made on both sides for a most obstinate and prolonged resistance. Soon after eleven o'clock, a breeze springing up from the S. W. enabled the American brig to gain the weather gage; and they continued to manœuvre to westward till two o'clock, in order to try the sailing and ascertain the force of their opponent. The American captain being satisfied on these points shortened sail, hoisted three ensigns, and fired a shot at the Boxer: the latter however did not |