for the splendid gunnery which had overwhelmed the _Macedonian_,
and he enjoyed the glory of bringing the prize to port. It was as a
reward of merit that he was given command of the _Argus_. Alas, in this
fight off the coast of Wales he lost both his ship and his life, and
England had scored again. There was no ill-luck this time--nothing to
plead in excuse. The American brig threw away a chance of victory
because her shooting was amazingly bad, and instead of defending the
deck with pistol, pike, and musket, when the boarders came over the bow
the crew lowered the flag.

It was an early morning fight, on August 14, 1813, in which Captain
Allen had his leg shot off within five minutes after the two brigs had
engaged. He refused to be taken below, but loss of blood soon made him
incapable of command, and presently his first lieutenant was stunned by
a grapeshot which grazed his scalp. The ship was well sailed, however,
and gained a position for raking the _Pelican_ in deadly fashion, but
the shot went wild and scarcely any harm was done. The British captain
chose his own range and methodically made a wreck of the _Argus_ in
twenty minutes of smashing fire, working around her at will while not a
gun returned his broadsides. Then he sheered close and was prepared to
finish it on the deck of the _Argus_ when she surrendered with
twenty-three of her crew out of action. The _Pelican_ was so little
punished that only two men were killed. The officer left in command of
the _Argus_ laid this unhappy conclusion to "the superior size and metal
of our opponent, and the fatigue which the crew underwent from a very
rapid succession of prizes." There were those on board who blamed it to
the casks of Oporto wine which had been taken out of the latest prize
and which the sailors had secretly tapped. Honesty is the best policy,
even in dealing with an enemy. The affair of the _Argus_ and the
_Pelican_ was not calculated to inflate Yankee pride.

To balance this, however, came two brilliant actions by small ships. The
new _Peacock_, named for the captured British brig, under Captain Lewis
Warrington, stole past the blockade of New York. Off the Florida coast
on the 29th of April she sighted a convoy and attacked the escort brig
of eighteen guns, the _Epervier_. In this instance the behavior of the
American vessel and her crew was supremely excellent and not a flaw
could be found. They hulled the British brig forty-five times and made a
s