three and
a half miles on his lee, and the three other frigates well to leeward.
The wind freshened, and the Constitution drew ahead, until, toward seven
o'clock in the evening of July 19th, a heavy rain squall struck the
ship, and by taking skillful advantage of it Hull left the Belvidera
and Shannon far astern; yet until eight o'clock the next morning they
were still in sight, keeping up the chase.

Perhaps nothing during the war tested American seamanship more
thoroughly than these three days of combined skill and endurance in the
face of the irresistible enemy. The result showed that Hull and the
Constitution had nothing to fear in these respects. There remained the
question whether the superiority extended to his guns; and such was the
contempt of the British naval officers for American ships, that with
this expedience before their eyes they still believed one of their
thirty-eight-gun frigates to be more than a match for an American
forty-four, although the American, besides the heavier armament, had
proved his capacity to outsail and out-manoeuvre the Englishman. Both
parties became more eager than ever for the test. For once, even the
Federalists of New England felt their blood stir; for their own
President and their own votes had called these frigates into existence,
and a victory won by the Constitution, which had been built by their
hands, was in their eyes a greater victory over their political
opponents than over the British. With no half-hearted spirit the
seagoing Bostonians showered well-weighed praises on Hull when his ship
entered Boston Harbor, July 26th, after its narrow escape, and when he
sailed again New England waited with keen interest to learn his fate.

Hull could not expect to keep command of the Constitution. Bainbridge
was much his senior, and had the right to a preference in active
service. Bainbridge then held and was ordered to retain command of the
Constellation, fitting out at the Washington Navy Yard; but Secretary
Hamilton, July 28th, ordered him to take command also of the
Constitution on her arrival in port. Doubtless Hull expected this
change, and probably the expectation induced him to risk a dangerous
experiment; for without bringing his ship to the Charlestown Navy Yard,
but remaining in the outer harbor, after obtaining such supplies as he
needed, August 2d, he set sail without orders, and stood to the
eastward. Having reached Cape Race without meeting an enemy, he turned
so