The 44-gun frigate USS CONSTITUTION was actually outfitted with 55 guns when she encountered the 38-gun frigate HMS GUERRIERE (armed with 49 at the time) off the coast of Nova Scotia, at about 2 p.m. Closing the distance of several miles between the two warships, HMS GUERRIERE raised three British ensigns as an invitation to a duel; USS CONSTITUTION’s Capt. Isaac Hull answered with four American ensigns.

Aboard HMS GUERRIERE, Capt. James Dacres ordered his small but highly experienced crew to begin firing broadsides early. USS CONSTITUTION’s commanding officer chose to hold fire until just after 6 p.m., Hull wrote soon after the engagement, “…within less than a Pistol Shot, we commenced a very heavy fire from all of our Guns.”

In the course of this 35-minute battle, an astonished sailor observed British 18-lb. iron cannonballs, fired from less than 50 yards, bouncing harmlessly off USS CONSTITUTION’s 25-inch oak hull, and he cried out, “Huzza! Her sides are made of iron!” Henceforth, USS CONSTITUTION carried the nickname “Old Ironsides.”

USS CONSTITUTION’s 24-lb. shots were devastating, bringing down the English warship’s masts, and entangling the two ships when they collided. The first United States Marine Corps officer to die in combat at sea was Lt. William Bush, who was shot on USS CONSTITUTION’s taffrail while attempting to board HMS GUERRIERE.

By 7 p.m., a wounded Dacres ordered a gun fired to leeward, signaling HMS GUERRIERE’s surrender to the American frigate.

“The Guerriere was so cut up, that all attempts to get her in would have been useless,” Capt. Dacres explained in a letter to his superiors in England. “As soon as the wounded were got out of her, they set her afire, and I feel it my duty to state that the conduct of Captain Hull and his Officers to our Men has been that of a brave Enemy.”

HMS GUERRIERE sank into the sea in flames on Aug. 20, and USS CONSTITUTION returned to Boston on Aug. 30, to great fanfare.

The British reaction was summed up by the London Times, which stated, “It is not merely that an English frigate has been taken, after, what we are free to confess, may be called a brave resistance, but that it has been taken by a new enemy, and enemy unaccustomed to such triumphs, and likely to be rendered insolent and confident by them. …how important this triumph is in giving a tone and character to the war. Never before in the history of the world did an English frigate strike to an American.”

Less than five months after sinking HMS GUERRIERE, USS CONSTITUTION engaged a second British frigate during the War of 1812, this time about 30 miles off the coast of Brazil. Under the command of Capt. William Bainbridge, "Old Ironsides" was outfitted with 54 guns, and sailed under Secretary of the Navy Paul Hamilton's directive: "to annoy the enemy and afford protection to our commerce."

In his journal kept aboard USS CONSTITUTION, Bainbridge described the final moments of the battle that led to HMS JAVA's surrender at 5:25 p.m., shortly before sinking: "Got very close to the Enemy in a very effectual Raking Position, athwart his Bows, and was at the very instance of Raking him, when he most prudently Struck his Flag; for had he suffered the Broadside to have Raked him, his additional Loss must have been extremely great, as he laid an unmanageable Wreck upon the Water."

As many as 60 British seamen were killed in action, including Capt. Lambert.  USS CONSTITUTION lost nine.

Following this battle, the British Admiralty - then the world's foremost maritime superpower - decreed their warships would no longer engage American frigates in combat unless in squadron force - that is, two or more to one.

The captains of USS CONSTITUTION, and the men-of-war HMS CYANE and HMS LEVANT, had no way of knowing that the War of 1812 had ended three days prior to this battle.

Sailing off the coast of Madeira, Spain, “Old Ironsides” encountered two smaller British ships in the afternoon. Outfitted with 52 guns, USS CONSTITUTION began exchanging fire with both ships, the 24-gun HMS CYANE (commanded by Capt. Thomas Gordon Falcon), as it sailed in formation behind the 18-gun HMS LEVANT (commanded by Capt. George Douglas). What followed would be one of the most brilliant examples of seamanship and tactics in the war.

In his official report, Capt. Stewart described the battle’s beginnings, at 6:05 p.m., “…commenced action by broadsides, both ships returning fire with great spirit for about 12 minutes, then the fire of the enemy beginning to slacken, and the great column of smoke collected under our lee, induced us to cease our fire to ascertain their positions and conditions.”

Damaged but not yet defeated, HMS LEVANT returned at around 8:40 p.m. After 90 minutes of pursuit and at a range of about 50 yards with “Old Ironsides,” HMS LEVANT struck her colors shortly after 10 p.m.

With the two prize ships in company, Stewart turned his British prisoners over to the Portuguese in the Cape Verdes, but British frigates recaptured HMS LEVANT shortly afterward. HMS CYANE was sailed to America, where she was purchased by the U.S. Navy and recommissioned USS CYANE, and served in the fleet until in 1827.

The use of battle streamers had its beginnings in antiquity when various emblems were carried into combat. Today, this battle streamer recognizes 14 significant actions by the U.S. Navy during the War of 1812. It is one of 28 authorized to be affixed to the military flags of the United States as colorful symbols and reminders the decisive influence of sea power on the establishment of the nation. Stars on the Navy streamers follow the practice initiated during the World War II period for ribbons and medals -- that is, a bronze star for each action, and a silver star in lieu of five bronze stars. The Navy applies stars to appropriate ribbons throughout its history.