1. The United States ships, and especially the frigates, were larger — 12 feet longer— and at the same time more easily manoeuvred than any which had ever before been built. The sloops-of-war outclassed those of foreign navies at every point.
2. The frigates concentrated the power of a ship of the line. They mounted long 24 pounders in broadside —an innovation startling for the times. To the Guerriere's 32 long 18's and 16 short 32's the Constitution opposed 30 long 24's and 24 short 32's. When she fought the Java she had increased the number of her long 24's to 32, so that while decreasing the number of her short guns to 22, she had aug mented their size to 24-pounders. That gave the combination of low power, heavy smashing projectiles with relatively high power penetrat ing projectiles which characterized the navy armament for many a year afterward.
3. The American gunners aimed their guns. They had been taught, as their fathers from the backwoods, who had harried the Hessians had been taught, to fire at targets; to use their long cannon as they used their long fowling pieces and to send round shot into hulls at the water line, just as they were accustomed with their rifle bullets to bring down ducks on the wing. The British system then involved no gun point ing. The carronades had no sights and were laid level — point blank —with a range of about 500 yards. They were fired with the same hope of hitting something which King George's gren adiers or those of his serene Highness of Wal deck cherished when they presented fire-lock and pulled the trigger in one motion. So long as shot cut up sails and rigging and so impaired motive power the desired end was attained. The bull-dog Briton could then lay his ship close aboard the enemy and finish the fight with boarders and cutlasses. But the handy Ameri can ships kept out of point blank range. Their long 24's enabled them to do this and at the same time deliberately to drill holes in the Brit ish water line, while occasionally anticipating the yet distant shell fire by sending slow heavy balls against the wooden sides and annihilating whole gun's crews with the resulting shower of splinters. That is how the Wasp cut up the Frolic in 43 minutes and the Hornet demolished the Peacock in just 11 — while incidentally demonstrating the superior advantages of firing on the down roll of the ship in order to con vert the adversary into a sieve, instead of on the up roll which merely clipped his wings.
In the War of 1812 the regular navy number ing but 23 vessels carrying in all but 556 guns captured 254 of the enemy s craft. The value of
the prizes taken by the navy and the privateers jointly was over $45,000,000. The cost of Brit ish marine insurance became almost prohibitive; 13 guineas per f100 was paid to insure vessels crossing the Irish Channel. So great was the injury to British commerce that in June 1813 flour in Great Britain was $58 per barrel and lumber $72 per 1,000 feet. Before the war was over the English were building ships on the °exact of the American 44-gun frigates and cutting down some of their most famous line-of-battle ships to compete with them. After peace had been secured, the permanent establish ment of the navy was fixed at 12 ships of the line, 14 first class frigates, three second class frigates, six sloops-of-war and a proportionate number of smaller vessels. The more famous craft built between 1814 and 1825 were the 74 gun ships Washington, Franklin, Columbus, Ohio and Delaware, which were armed with 12 eight-inch and 70 32-pounder guns. For, a time the North Carolina with 102 guns in three tiers of port-holes on her towering sides was regarded as the most powerful war-ship afloat. Meanwhile the possibilities of steam war ves sels were looming up. Robert Fulton had built the Demologos in 1813, which not only was pro pelled by a midships paddle wheel — but had a queer collection of innovations, notably a bat tery of long 32-pounders supplemented by a 100-pounder submarine gun and apparatus for discharging steam into an enemy's hull. She was accidentally blown up in 1829 and was suc ceeded by the wooden steam battery Fulton the Second, built in 1837 which, however, proved a failure. Four years later the Mississippi and Missouri, side wheel steamers, were constructed and they were followed in 1847 by the Susque hanna and Powhatan — all excellent and serv iceable vessels. The value of having the motive power beneath the water line had, however, already attracted attention to the screw pro peller. In 1844 the Princeton, designed by Capt. John Ericsson, the first screw steam war vessel ever built, was launched. She car ried two long 225-pounder built-up guns, capable of piercing four and one-half inches of wrought iron, and the first of their type. She was broken up in 1849—but was in service long enough fully to demonstrate the naval import ance of screw propulsion. The engineer corps of the navy (amalgamated with the line in 1899) was organized by Act of 31 Ang. 1842 and in 1845. the United States Naval Academy (q.v.) was established at Annapolis.