finally lieutenant charles morris suggested hedging. they were off the coast of new jersey which was a shallow coast. they were able to send a small boat out ahead of "constitution" and drop the anchor and the men at the capstan would haul the "constitution" up to the anchor while other men rode it forward. so they can move the ship when by hedging, they could move the ship when there was no wind to stay ahead of the british. this was two days of chase with light air and a puff now and then, and when the breeze filled it reached "constitution" first. so she scooted away in the storm before she reached the british. so war was declared against great britain on june 18th in 1812. in july of 1812 "constitution" had the great escape from the british so august 1812 she was still afloat, and she was the first to meet one of those five ships pursuing her. "the guerrier" was heading to halifax for repairs. "constitution" met "guerrier" on august 19th, 1812, and we have put together a diagram from captain hull to help you understand how that batt

our first lieutenant, charles morris, then goes to lead the boarding party. he's also shot and wounded and finally the two ships pull apart. as the two ships pull apart, the rigging is tangled and "guerrier" loses her last two masts. so when you look at the final image here, she's left a perfect wreck in the water. she has no more ability to maneuver with no masts and sails. she has to surrender by firing a gun away from "constitution," the signal that the battle is over. so "constitution" has just beaten a british frigate. britain has been queen of the seas for as long as anybody remembers. britain always wins sea battles, but here uss confusion fought the battle and saw cannonballs bounce off of her side and a sailor cried her sides are made of iron, a joke because she's a fully wooden ship but she earned the nickname "old ironsides." when "constitution" returned to boston after the victory over the british in the war of 1812 the city exploded. it was such a surprise that an american frigate beach a british frigate and captain isaac hull who you see in this