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Updated: May 21, 2025
Still the guns could be heard, showing that the chase had not yet yielded, and was, as before, endeavouring to make her escape. First they were fired only at intervals, as either one or the other could bring her bow or stern-chasers to bear on her antagonist; just as the boats reached the shore the booming sounds came with far greater rapidity, as if both were firing their broadsides.
The "President" responded with her stern-chasers, but her shot had no effect. "It is said that on this occasion," writes Cooper, "the shot of the American ship were observed to be thrown with a momentum so unusually small, as to have since excited much distrust of the quality of her gunpowder.
He showed me down to the cabin. It was a dingy, dirty little room about twelve feet square over all, but made, in reality, much smaller by the lockers which ran along each side. It was lighted by two large wooden ports, known as "chase ports," through which the chase guns or "stern-chasers pointed. With two guns in that little cabin there would not have been room enough to swing a cat.
As you all well know, young gentlemen, I am not a man to be daunted; so I loaded our stern-chasers, and kept blazing away at the monster, to make him turn aside, but to no effect. I trained the guns myself, and every shot went into his mouth; but he just rolled his eyes round, and swallowed them as if they were so many pills.
Still no one thought of giving in. "We'll shift the stern-chasers, Owen," cried the captain; "they'll soon be of little use where they are." "Ay, ay, sir," answered the first mate, and he with several hands began to haul one of the guns along the deck, when again the enemy fired his whole broadside.
The French crew had ceased firing their stern-chasers upon the fall of their main-topmast, and it was the opinion of many that they had struck, their flag coming down with their topmast, and not being re-hoisted; we therefore ceased firing also, but before we were fairly alongside they had rigged a small staff out over their taffrail, and had run their flag up again.
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