Kedging

Chase of the Constitution, July 1812
Anton Otto Fischer
(Source)

And, if you find yourself becalmed, try kedging yourself. Hey, if it worked for the USS Constitution, then it should get you out of the dead water you are in. - Andrew

Our readers, ya gotta love 'em. I often get ideas from you Chanters, this is the first time, I think, that the suggestion related directly to the post I wrote, or am writing. (Damn paradoxes of time travel!)

kedge

verb: kedge; 3rd person present: kedges; past tense: kedged; past participle: kedged; gerund or present participle: kedging
    1. (with reference to a ship or boat) move by hauling in a hawser attached to a small anchor dropped at some distance.
    "I kedged the dinghy to the port"

noun: kedge; plural noun: kedges; noun: kedge anchor; plural noun: kedge anchors
    1. a small anchor used to reposition a ship or boat by having the anchor's hawser hauled in.

Anyhoo. I was familiar with the story of Old Ironsides which Andrew mentions in his comment. (You'll have to go here to read the entire comment. Well, not "have to" but "can if you want to." I don't want to seem pushy.) But in the interests of educating those who don't know the story, here it is...

Now in the video, four Royal Navy ship types were mentioned:

• four frigates
• a ship of the line
• a brigantine (which the British classified as a gun-brig)
• a schooner

USS Constitution is a frigate, though she is considered to be a very big frigate of 44 guns. Here's how the Royal Navy "rated" their warships during the Napoleonic Wars (which is the time period within which Constitution's Great Escape occurred) -

Notes

The smaller fourth rates, primarily the 50-gun ships, were, from 1756 on, no longer classified as ships of the line. Since not big enough to stand in the line of battle, were often called frigates, though not classed as frigates by the Royal Navy. They were generally classified, like all smaller warships used primarily in the role of escort and patrol, as "cruisers", a term that covered everything from the smaller two-deckers down to the small gun-brigs and cutters.

The larger fifth rates were generally two-decked ships of 40 or 44 guns, and thus not "frigates", although the 40-gun frigates built during the Napoleonic War also fell into this category.

The smaller sixth rates were often popularly called frigates, though not classed as "frigates" by the Admiralty officially. Only the larger sixth rates (those mounting 28 carriage guns or more) were technically frigates.

The ton in this instance is the burthen tonnage (bm). From c.1650 the burthen of a vessel was calculated using the formula "k" x "b" x ½"b"/94, where "k" was the length, in feet, from the stem to the sternpost, and "b" the maximum breadth of the vessel. It was a rough measurement of cargo-carrying capacity by volume, not displacement. Therefore, one should not change a measurement in "tons burthen" into a displacement in "tons" or "tonnes". (Source for the Chart and Notes.)

One further note of my own. Ship types in the age of sail were generally classified by their size and their "rig," that is, the configuration of masts and sails. For instance:

The brigantine was a two-masted sailing vessel with a fully square rigged foremast and at least two sails on the main mast: a square topsail and a gaff sail mainsail (behind the mast). The main mast is the second and taller of the two masts. (Source)

Ships of the line (also called sail of the line and line of battle ships, which is where the term "battleship" comes from) and frigates looked similar. It was their size which differentiated them, also their usage. Frigates were nimble and fast, they were the scouts of their day. They avoided the line of battle as the bigger ships of the line could (and did) pound them to kindling, given the chance.

Examples of what the different ship types looked like -

(Source)

So USS Constitution was heavily outnumbered and outgunned. How she escaped was nothing short of amazing and a tribute to both the ship and her crew. An excellent telling of the tale can be found here. (As a plug for that fine organization at the link, I'm a member and have been for over a decade. If one works on systems for the U.S. Navy, one should be conversant with that service. The USNI is excellent. End plug.)

LT Morris of Old Ironside's crew would no doubt applaud Juvat's favorite line "never give up, never surrender!"

Screenshot from the video above

Andrew, thanks for getting me out of the doldrums. A most excellent story!

As an added bonus, the French have a replica of the frigate which Lafayette traveled upon to America, back in the day. She is a beauty. (Hat tip to reader RHT447 for the link!)

Mesdames et Messieurs, I give you the French 32-gun frigate, Hermione -

My, I'm in rather a nautical mode as of late aren't I? Expect more!