Battle
Although the weather had cleared, there was still a strong wind blowing and a heavy sea. Both vessels shortened sail and prepared for action. The crew of Frolic took down the jury mainyard and lashed it to the deck. Since both vessels carried a main armament of short-range carronades, there was no attempt at manoeuvering to gain advantage before the fight; instead, they closed to "within hail" (60 yards) and opened fire at 11:30 am, with the Wasp to the starboard and slightly to windward and the Frolic to port. The Wasp's crew fired low, into their opponent's hull, while the Frolic's gunners fired high, unusually for the Royal Navy, to disable their enemy's rigging. As the action continued, the ships closed together, until the American gunners struck the sides of the Frolic with their rammers as they reloaded.
After 22 minutes, Wasp's rigging was badly damaged, with the main topmast, mizzen topgallant mast and gaff being shot away, and almost every brace severed, making the ship unmanageable. The Frolic was even more heavily damaged, and the crew had suffered very heavy casualties. With both vessels incapable of being handled, the Wasp drew slightly ahead and the Frolic collided with the American ship. The Wasp fired a final raking broadside which delivered the Coup de grĂ¢ce. At 11:52 am, American sailors boarded the Frolic to find that every British officer and over half the crew, 90 men, were wounded or dead. The Americans themselves had suffered only 10 casualties. Although it was acknowledged that the British crew had fought to their utmost, it was clear that the American gunnery had been far superior to that of the British.
Read more about this topic: Capture Of HMS Frolic
Famous quotes containing the word battle:
“Up from the South at break of day,
Bringing to Winchester fresh dismay,
The affrighted air with a shudder bore,
Like a herald in haste, to the chieftains door,
The terrible grumble, and rumble, and roar,
Telling the battle was on once more,
And Sheridan twenty miles away.”
—Thomas Buchanan Read (18221872)
“Much have I seen and knowncities of men
And manners, climates, councils, governments,
Myself not least, but honored of them all
And drunk delight of battle with my peers,
Far on the ringing plains of windy Troy.
I am a part of all that I have met;”
—Alfred Tennyson (18091892)
“For WAR, consisteth not in Battle only, or the act of fighting; but in a tract of time, wherein the Will to content by Battle is sufficiently known.... So the nature of War, consisteth not in actual fighting; but in the known disposition thereto, during all the time there is no assurance to the contrary. All other time is PEACE.”
—Thomas Hobbes (15791688)