and more insistent, although the largest
British ship, the _Confiance_, had been launched only a few days before
and the mechanics were still toiling night and day to fit her for
action. She was a formidable frigate, of the size of the American
_Chesapeake_, and was expected to be more than a match for Macdonough's
entire fleet. Captain Downie certainly expected the support of the army,
which he failed to receive, for he clearly stated his position before
the naval battle. "When the batteries are stormed and taken possession
of by the British land forces, which the commander of the land forces
has promised to do at the moment the naval action commences, the enemy
will be obliged to quit their position, whereby we shall obtain decided
advantage over them during the confusion. I would otherwise prefer
fighting them on the lake and would wait until our force is in an
efficient state but I fear they would take shelter up the lake and would
not meet me on equal terms."

Compelled to seek and offer battle in Plattsburg Bay, the British
vessels rounded Cumberland Head on the morning of the 11th of September
and hove to while Captain Downie went ahead in a boat to observe the
American position. He perceived that Macdonough had anchored his fleet
in line in this order: the brig _Eagle_, twenty guns, the flagship
_Saratoga_, twenty-six guns, the schooner _Ticonderoga_, seven guns, and
the sloop _Preble_, seven guns. There was also a considerable squadron
of little gunboats, or galleys, propelled by oars and mounting one gun.
Opposed to this force was the stately _Confiance_, with her three
hundred men and thirty-seven guns, such a ship as might have dared to
engage the _Constitution_ on blue water, and the _Chub_, _Linnet_, and
_Finch_, much like Macdonough's three smaller vessels, besides a
flotilla of the tiny, impudent gunboats which were like so many hornets.

Macdonough was a youngster of twenty-eight years to whom was granted
this opportunity denied the officers who had grown gray in the service.
The navy, which was also very young, had set its own stamp upon him, and
his advancement he had won by sheer ability. Self-reliant and
indomitable, like Oliver Hazard Perry, he had wrestled with obstacles
and was ready to meet the enemy in spite of them. His fame among naval
men outshines Perry's, and he is rated as the greatest fighting sailor
who flew the American flag until Farragut surpassed them all.

The battle of Plattsbu