265. The Wasp and the Frolic ,1812
At almost the same time the American ship Wasp captured the British brig Frolic . The Wasp had three masts , and the Frolic had only two masts . But the two vessels were realy of about the same size , as the American ship was only five feet longer than her enemy , and had the lighter guns . In a few minutes after the be - ginning of the fight the Frolic was a shattered hulk , with only one sound man on her deck . Soon after the conflict a British battleship came up and captured both the Wasp and her prize . The effect of these victories of the Constit И tion and the Wasp was tremendous . Before the war British naval officers had called the Constitution ＂ a bundle of sticks .＂ Now it was thought to be no longer safe for British frigates to sail the seas alone . They must go in pairs to protect each other from ＂ Old Ironsides .＂ Before long the Constitution , now commanded by Captain Bainbridge , had captured the British frigate Java , and the frigate United States , Captain Decatur , had taken the British ship Macedo - nian . On the other hand , the Chesapeake was captured by the Shannon . This victory gave great satisfaction to the British . But Captain Lawrence ＇ s last words ," Don ＇ t give up the ship ,＂ have always been a glorious inspiration to American sailors .
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