d, and was soon ready to fight another British
frigate, had there been one to fight. Indeed, the surgeons of the
_Constitution_ went on board of the _Guerriere_ to help dress the wounds
of the British seamen. The _Guerriere_ was a little smaller than the
_Constitution_ and had smaller guns. But the real reason for this great
victory was that the American ship and the American guns were very much
better handled than were the British ship and the British guns.

[Sidenote: _Wasp_ and the _Frolic_]

[Sidenote: Effect of these victories.]

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 really 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 beginning 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 _Constitution_ 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 _Macedonian_. 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.

[Sidenote: Plan of campaign, 1814.]

[Sidenote: Battle of Lundy's Lane, 1814.]

266. Brown's Invasion of Canada, 1814.--In the first two years of
the war the American armies in New York had done nothing. But abler men
were now in command. Of these, General Jacob Brown, General Macomb,
Colonel Winfield Scott, and Colonel Ripley deserve to be remembered.
The American plan of campaign was that Brown, with Scott and Ripley,
should cross the Niagara River and invade Canada. General Macomb, with a
naval force under McDonough, was to hold the line of Lake Champlain. The
British plan was to in