All this is of little moment, as three hundred and seventy-seven men were quite enough for such a ship, no one who understands vessels ever supposing that the Java was equal in force to the Constitution.

It was the manner in which Old Ironsides invariably did her work, that excited the admiration of the knowing. On this occasion she had shot out of her adversary every spar she had (the mainmast coming down before she struck), while she herself could carry royals!

In her action with the Java, the good ship suffered more than she did in her previous engagements. She had nine killed and twenty-five wounded. Among the latter was Bainbridge himself, and Aylwin, the junior lieutenant, the same officer who was wounded in the combat with the Guerriere, died of hurts received in this battle. The ship, herself, was not much injured. Some of her spars were wounded, and a few shots struck her hull; but the great cause of surprise to the Americans was to know where all the enemy's shot had gone.

In consequence of the water's being so smooth, the Java was not much injured below the water-line. She might very well have been taken into port, but the experiment would have been hazardous on many accounts. She was without spars, far from America, the sea was covered with English cruisers, and the nearest countries were much under the control of English influence. Keeping all the circumstances in view Bainbridge removed all his prisoners, and two or three days after the action, he ordered Hoffman to blow up this prize, too, and return to St. Salvador. Here he landed his prisoners, among whom were Lt. Gen. Hyslop, with his staff, and several supernumerary sea officers.

As Old Ironsides rejoined her consort, the Hornet, the utmost anxiety prevailed on board the latter vessel, on the subject of the result of the action. The vessel in company with the Java previously to the battle, was an American prize, which had stood on toward St. Salvador, and fallen into the hands of the Hornet, off the port. Her prize-crew, of course, related the fact, that the Java had left her to engage an American frigate, but could say nothing of the result. Lawrence had great confidence in Old Ironsides, but as he approached her, he kept every thing ready for flight should it be necessary. It could be seen that stoppers were on the standing rigging, and that the ship had been in a warm combat; but where was the prize? It was possible, that the English had got hold of the good old craft, and had sent her in to decoy the Hornet under her guns. The signals read well, but the prize-crew of the ship retaken, gave marvellous accounts of the Java, and of her all-powerful, double-jointed crew, and so many men might have been thrown on board our ship, as to have swept her out of our grasp! This feeling prevailed on board the Hornet, until the vessels were near enough to distinguish countenances, when the number of well-known faces that appeared above the Constitution's hammock-cloths settled the matter. Hearty cheers soon proclaimed that it was a meeting between friends. As soon as Lawrence got on board the Constitution, he told Bainbridge that the English sloop-of-war, in the port, had hove short, and it was thought, intended to come out that night. If such had been the plan, the arrival of Old Ironsides, with the crew of the Java as prisoners, was argument enough to cause it to be abandoned. Willing, however, to give Lawrence a chance, Bainbridge remained as short a time at St. Salvador as possible, sailing for home, Jan. 6th, 1813, and reaching Boston, Feb. 27th.

Old Ironsides carried the news of her own success. No one believed that the capture of an isolated ship, here and there, could have any great influence on the result of the war, in a mere material sense; England had too many frigates, and America too few, for such occurrences to conduce essentially to direct conquests, but indirectly they were of vast weight. The moral effect of Hull's victory cannot readily be estimated. Great it was, beyond all doubt, and here was a second success by the same ship, bringing the vessel itself into the account as particeps gloriae. Until the return of the Constitution from this cruise, the Constellation had been the champion of the navy.