A Pair of Naval Battle Scenes: United States vs. Macedonian and Constitution vs. Guerrière

These beautifully rendered pictures depict two spectacular victories of the War of 1812 that became the pride of the young American Navy. On August 19th, 1812 the frigate Constitution, captained by Isaac Hill, defeated the HMS Guerrière in Boston Harbor, and on October 25th the United States, captained by Stephen Decatur, defeated the HMS Macedonian. The Macedonian was the only British frigate ever brought into an American harbor (Newport, RI) as a prize. The United States and the Constitution were two of the original six frigates, innovative in design, displaying speed and agility against the experienced and well trained British Navy. Cornè modeled these paintings after widely-circulated prints by Thomas Birch (1779-1851).