The British! They fear the Constitution! >A frigate was

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The British! They fear the Constitution!

>A frigate was sighted on 19 August and subsequently determined to be HMS Guerriere (38) with the words "Not The Little Belt" painted on her foretopsail.[101][Note 4] Guerriere opened fire upon entering range of Constitution, doing little damage.
>At one point, the two ships rotated together counter-clockwise, with Constitution continuing to fire broadsides. When the two ships pulled apart, the force of the bowsprit's extraction sent shock waves through Guerriere's rigging. Her foremast soon collapsed, and that brought the mainmast down shortly afterward.[105] Guerriere was now a dismasted, unmanageable hulk, with close to a third of her crew wounded or killed, while Constitution remained largely intact. The British surrendered.[106]
>Using his heavier broadsides and his ship's sailing ability, Hull had managed to surprise the British. Adding to their astonishment, many of their shots rebounded harmlessly off Constitution's hull. An American sailor reportedly exclaimed "Huzzah! her sides are made of iron!" and Constitution acquired the nickname "Old Ironsides".[107]
>The battle left Guerriere so badly damaged that she was not worth towing to port.

> Constitution's victory over Java, the third British warship in as many months to be captured by the United States, prompted the British Admiralty to order its frigates not to engage the heavier American frigates one-on-one; only British ships of the line or squadrons were permitted to come close enough to these ships to attack.[118][119]

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