On Aug. 19, 1812, two ships in the waters of the North Atlantic were headed for a showdown. On board the HMS Guerriere, Capt. James A. Dacres tried to make out the identity of the mystery ship. He didn’t realize it was the USS Constitution, the same frigate that had escaped him and four other British warships off the Jersey Shore less than a month before.

Dacres was still unsure. “She acts too bold to be an American ship, but the better she behaves the more honors we shall gain in taking her.”