merican ship ranged alongside the "Shannon," at a distance of
half pistol-shot; and, as her foremast came in a line with the
"Shannon's" mizzen-mast, the latter opened fire with her cabin-guns.
For a moment the "Chesapeake" was silent, waiting for her guns to
bear; then, with sulphuric flashes and a thunderous roar, she let fly
her whole broadside. Then followed a duel with great guns. The two
ships, lying side by side, dealt and received staggering blows. The
spectators in small boats, who kept a safe distance, and the crowds of
eager watchers on the far-off heights of Salem, saw through their
spy-glasses the flash of the first broadsides, and the flying
splinters that followed the course of the deadly shot. Then a heavy
cloud of yellow smoke settled over the warring leviathans, and all
further incidents of the battle were shut out from view. Only the
top-masts of the ships, with the half-furled sails and the opposing
ensigns flying, could be seen above the smoke.

Under this vaporous pall, the fighting was sharp and desperate. The
first broadside of the "Shannon" so swept the decks of the American
frigate, that, of one hundred and fifty men quartered on the upper
deck, not fifty were upon their legs when the terrible rush of the
shot was over. The sailors in the tops of the British frigate, looking
down upon the decks of their enemy, could see nothing but a cloud of
hammocks, splinters, and wreckage of all kinds, driven fiercely across
the deck. Both men at the wheel fell dead, but their places were soon
filled; while fresh gunners rushed down to work the guns that had been
silenced by the enemy's fearful broadside. In a moment the
"Chesapeake" responded with spirit, and for some time broadsides were
exchanged with inconceivable rapidity. The men encouraged each other
with cheers and friendly cries. They had named the guns of the
frigate, and with each telling shot they cheered the iron-throated
monster which had hurled the bolt. "Wilful Murder," "Spitfire,"
"Revenge," "Bull Dog," "Mad Anthony," "Defiance," "Raging Eagle," and
"Viper" were some of the titles born by the great guns; and well the
weapons bore out the names thus bestowed upon them. The gunnery of the
Americans was good, their shot doing much damage to the enemy's
rigging. But the effect of the "Shannon's" broadsides was such that no
men, however brave, could stand before them. They swept the decks,
mowing down brave fellows by the score. Officers fell on