a good crew, but he would do his best
with the crew he had. He put his ship in fighting trim, and his men in
the best order possible, and early on a summer afternoon the
"Chesapeake" went out to meet the "Shannon," which was boldly flying the
flag of St. George.

In those days, when men-of-war, as well as all other ships, were sailing
vessels, the tactics of naval combats were very different from what they
are now. Each of the commanders of vessels was obliged to think, not
only of what his enemy was about, but what the wind was about. A steamer
can take what position she pleases; she can steam far away from her
enemy, or she can use her long-range guns, or dash down upon her to
break in her sides with her ram. But in the old sailing times, maneuvers
were very much more difficult, and if the winds ever desired to stop a
sea fight, it often happened that they could do it simply by dying away
themselves.

The two ships sailed this way and that, each trying to get a position
which would be good for herself and bad for the other; and at last, when
they were very close, so near that their captains might have talked with
each other, their cannon began to speak. From their mouths came rolling
of thunder. From each ship, volleys of great shot swept the decks of the
other, while the rattle of musketry became incessant. This tremendous
fire was kept up for nearly ten minutes, and in this short time the
"Chesapeake" lost nearly one hundred men, killed and wounded, on her
upper deck.

Still she had the best of the fight, for in a few minutes she would have
taken a position in which she could have raked the decks of the enemy.
But unfortunately some of her rigging was shot away, and she could not
take advantage of the wind, and did not obey her helm. Nothing could be
worse than this; for, with sails flapping wildly in the wind, precision
of sailing, so necessary in a sea fight, was absolutely impossible.

But not only was the "Chesapeake" unable to take the position she
wanted, but she could not get out of the way, and she drifted against
the "Shannon;" and the rigging of the two vessels became entangled, with
the "Chesapeake" exposed to the full fire of the guns of the other ship.
In this case there was only one thing to be done, and Captain Lawrence
was the brave man to do it. He must board the "Shannon," and he and his
men must fight her captain and his men hand to hand. There was no use
trying to fight any longer with the "C