The Constitution and the Guerriere

Those of you who nodded your heads sarcastically at my posting promises a few days ago were entirely in the right. I did not stick to the writing schedule I planned, and thus have no music post for you today. I beg a thousand pardons.

 

Having obviously not learned my lesson about good intentions gone awry, I will make yet another rash promise and say, in all naïve sincerity,  that I truly do intend to publish the aforementioned post tomorrow. ("Optimistic procrastination" describes me well, eh?)

 

However, for all of you who were eagerly awaiting the arrival of another wonderful MET post {hearty laugh}, I'm sharing yet another poem about Captain Hull's celebrated victory! This poem is certainly written from a different angle than Firstfruits in 1812 - the primary difference here is the decidedly more frequent usage of the word "brandy". The style here is rather overconfident and cocky as compared to the other... still, I like it well enough in its own way. :)

The Constitution and the Guerriere

by Malcolm Laws
                                                                                                

It oft-times has been told,
That the British seamen bold
Could flog the tars of France
So neat and handy, Oh!
But they never met their match,
Till the Yankees did them catch
Oh, the Yankee boys for fighting
Are the dandy, Oh!

The Guerriere, a frigate bold,
On the foaming ocean rolled
Commanded by proud Dacres,
The grandee, Oh!
With as choice a British crew
As ever a rammer drew
Could flog the Frenchmen
Two to one so handy, Oh!

When the frigate hove in view,
Says proud Dacres to his crew,
Come clear the ship for action
And be handy, Oh!
To the weather-gage, boys, get her.
And to make his men fight better
Gave them to drink, gunpowder
Mixed with brandy, Oh!

Then Dacres loudly cries,
Make this Yankee ship your prize,
You can in thirty minutes,
Neat and handy, Oh!
Twenty-five's enough, I'm sure,
And if you'll do it in a score
I'll treat you to a double
Share of brandy, Oh!
 

The British shot flew hot,
Which the Yankees answered not
Till they got within the distance
They called handy, Oh!
Now, says Hull unto his crew,
Let us see what we can do,
If we take this boasting Briton
We're the dandy, Oh!

The first broadside we poured
Carried her mainmast by the board
Which made this lofty frigate
Look abandoned, Oh!
Then Dacres shook his head,
And to his officers said,
Lord! I didn't think those Yankees
Were so handy, Oh!

Our secon told so well
That their fore and mizzen fell,
Which doused the royal ensign
Neat and handy, Oh!
By George! says he, We're done!
And they fired a lee gun
While the Yankees struck up
Yankee Doodle Dandy, Oh!

Then Dacres came on board
To deliver up his sword.
Tho'loth was he to part with it,
It was so handy, Oh!
Oh! Keep your sword, says Hull,
For it only makes you dull,
Cheer up, and let us have
A little brandy, Oh!

Now, fill your glasses full,
And we'll drink to Captain Hull
And so merrily we'll push
Around the brandy, Oh!
Johnny Bull may boast his fill,
Let the world say what it will,
The Yankee boys for fighting
Are the dandy, Oh!

Hull's Victory ~ the Dance

This historic contra dance became one of my favorites shortly after first learning it about three years ago, and found an especially warm place in my heart once I began learning the history behind it! A few of my favorite aspects of this dance are as follows:

1. The opening "wave" step! So far as I know, this step is unique to Hull's Victory. The 1st couple does half a right hand turn, joining left hands with the 2nd couple to form a line of four; the line then does a balance forward and back, making a neat little wave pattern on the dance floor. The wave motion is repeated after a left hand turn on the ends and a right hand turn for the 1s in the center. This opening portion of the dance is a lot of fun to do; the forward motion corresponds perfectly to the energy of the music, propelling the turns around and giving a satisfying emphasis to the balance.

2. The buzz step swing! Just about every contra dance I have done includes at least one of these, so the swing is definitely not a defining characteristic of Hull's Victory. Still, a good steady swing can be a lot of fun, especially when paired with such sprightly music as is used for this dance!

3. Dancing it as a 1st couple! Now, in most English and contra dances the 1s are referred to as the "active couple", due to the slightly longer amount of time and/or the greater level of complexity given to the 1st position. However, I know of no other dance in which the 1st couple is given such a decided preference - in Hull's Victory, the 1s really do have all the fun! They turn, they swing, they go down and up the center, and participate in everything the 2s do as well. The 1s are in constant motion, even though the 2s are forced into idleness for half the dance!
Of course, this advantage is turned on its head whenever the 1st couple reaches the bottom end of the set, at which point the former 1s must turn and make their way back up the set as very inactive 2s - a fitting penance for having dominated the dance previously! The moral? If you're going to be selfish, do it all the way - make sure you get in at the very top of the line, and hope the music ends before you reach the bottom! ;)


The dance instructions for Hull's Victory were included on page 83 of Elias Howe's American Dancing Master, a guidebook to ballroom dancing that was published forty years after the Constitution encountered the Guerriere. The brief paragraph given to this dance does not contain much information, merely a listing of the steps with little to no indication of how much time should be given to each of them. Still, I love this paragraph because it describes the very dance that we still enjoy even a century and a half later! (As a related side note, the entire Dancing Master has been scanned and shared online; the beginning several pages especially make for an entertaining read!)

A useful set of precise dance calls can be found on the Hull's Victory page at Stately Steps. These instructions are presented in a much more orderly format, with the steps given in connection with the length of time allotted for each. Also, this page includes a video compilation of Hull's Victory being danced on several different occasions in various settings. To my mind, if you can not be at a dance, the next best thing is to watch well-recorded dancing videos!


Hope you enjoyed my informal, uninformative rambling... and have a great day!

Happy Hull's Victory Day!

Sure, you won't find it printed on your calendar; not many people will stop you on the street and wish you "pleasant dancing"; and I can't imagine that anyone will get a day off work in honor of the occasion. Still, it is Hull's Victory Day nonetheless - so have a happy one!

It has now been 202 years since the day on which the battle between the USS Constitution and the HMS Guerriere was fought; 202 years since Captain Isaac Hull and his crew proved their skill in battle; 202 years since the naval victory that gave heart to the Americans in the War of 1812. But you can read all about that here; no need for me to go over all the same details again, especially since this blog has so little material anyway. Something new must be posted in honor of the day... I have a few selections in the draft folder to choose from, but none of them are anything like completed at present. How about... oh, I know! Today you can have a poem, tomorrow a dance analysis, Thursday a music feature, and Friday another related post yet to be determined - a full week of Hull's Victory-themed posting! (All of you who know me are nodding your heads sarcastically at this point... no, really, I mean it this time!)

I first came across this poem a few years ago while reading The Patriot's Handbook, a compilation of patriotic songs, historic speeches, and notable documents from throughout America's history. At the time, I didn't think much about the poem - I just read it briefly and moved on. Once I actually learned about sea battle that inspired this poem, though, it quickly became a favorite of mine!

First Fruits in 1812 

By Wallace Rice

What is that a-billowing there

Like a thunderhead in air?

Why should such a sight be whitening the seas;

That’s a Yankee man-o’-war,

And three things she’s seeking for:

For a prize, and for a battle, and a breeze.

 

When the war blew o’er the sea

Out went Hull and out went we

In the Constitution, looking for the foe;

But five British ships came down—

And we got to Boston-town

By a mighty narrow margin, you must know!

 

Captain Hull can’t fight their fleet,

But he fairly aches to meet

Quite the prettiest British ship of all there were;

So he stands again to sea

In the hope that on his lee

He’ll catch Dacres and his pretty Guerriere.

 

‘Tis an August afternoon

Not a day too late or soon,

When we raise a ship whose lettered mainsail reads:

All who meet me have a care,

I am England’s Guerriere;

So Hull gaily clears for action as he speeds.

 

Cheery bells had chanted five

On the happiest day alive

When we Yankees dance to quarters at his call;

While the British bang away

With their broadsides’ screech and bray;

But the Constitution never fires a ball.

 

We send up three times to ask

If we sha’n’t begin our task?

Captain Hull sends back each time the answer No;

Till to half a pistol shot

The two frigates he had brought,

Then he whispers, Lay along! And we let go.

 

Twice our broadside lights and lifts,

And the Briton, crippled, drifts

With her mizzen dangling hopeless at her poop;

Laughs a Yankee, She’s a brig!

Says our Captain, “That’s too big;

Try another, so we’ll have her for a sloop!”

 

We huzzah, and fire again,

Lay aboard of her like men,

And, like men, they beat us off, and try in turn;

But we drive bold Dacres back

With our muskets’ snap and crack

All the while our crashing broadsides boom and burn.

 

‘Tis but half an hour, bare,

When that pretty Guerriere

Not a stick calls hers aloft or hers alow,

Save the mizzen’s shattered mast,

Where her “meteor flag” is nailed fast

Till, a fallen star, we quench its ruddy glow.

 

Dacres, injured, o’er our side

Slowly bears his sword of pride,

Holds it out, as Hull stands there in his renown;

No, no! Says th’ American,

Never, from so brave a man:

But I see you’re wounded, let me help you down.

 

All that night we work in vain

Keeping her upon the main,

But we’ve hulled her far too often, and at last

In a blaze of fire there

Dies the pretty Guerriere;

While away we cheerly sail upon the blast.

Oh, the breeze that blows so free!

Oh, the prize beneath the sea!

Oh, the battle! Was there ever better won?

Still the happy Yankee cheers

Are a-ringing in our ears

From old Boston, glorying in what we’ve done.

 

What is that a-billowing there

Like a thunderhead in air?

Why should such a sight be whitening the seas?

That’s Old Ir’nsides, trim and taut,

And she’s found the things she sought:

Found a prize, a bully battle, and a breeze!