The Constitution and Guerrier

The battle between the Constitution and the Guerrier resulted in an American victory. The prominence of the British and American flags emphasizes not only the nationality of the victor, but also of the defeated. This image depicts a naval battle between two ships. Each ship flies its colors in three flags prominently displayed, although one of the American flags appears to have only stripes. Cannon smoke obscures the back of the British ship and billows towards the American ship, where it curls and disperses among the sails. The back mast of the British ship—significantly topped by one of the British flags—is collapsing in a wreck of loose ropes and tattered sails.

This image depicts the battle, an American victory, between the American Constitution and the British Guerrier during the War of 1812. The prominence of the British and American flags emphasizes not only the nationality of the victor, but also of the defeated. Light and shadow play an enormous role in this image. The light rests significantly on the American sails and flags, and bursts forth in the American artillery fire; the shadows on the British flags make them less defined and less spectacular. The smoke emitted by the American ship is lighter than that obscuring the British ship, drawing the eye to the front of the American ship. The sails of the American ship are also brighter than those of the British; one light-drenched sail serves as the background for one of the American flags, emphasizing the nationality of the victor. Finally, the smoke from the cannons billows to the left of the image, moving from the British ship to form a dark background behind the American ship; the bright illumination of the latter vessel is further enhanced by the resulting contrast. This marked use of light and darkness produces a symbolic rendering of the battle: the light illuminating the Constitution arguably appeals to a claim of ideological purity that transcends the sordid and material motives of ordinary battle, and also corresponds to the allusion of the ship's name to liberty. Such an allusion also contributes to the theme of freedom and sailors’ rights proclaimed throughout the accompanying poem.