It was growing dark, but the other ships of the squadron could be made out by their signal-lights, and to lower a boat to take possession of the _Endymion_ was impossible. One more attempt Decatur made to avoid capture, and to accomplish this he sailed close to the _Endymion_ and exposed himself to a raking fire, being within range for over half an hour, but not a shot was heard. The Englishman had been placed entirely out of the combat. At eleven it had lightened considerably, and two fresh ships of the enemy had crawled up within gunshot. They were the _Pomone_ and the _Tenedos_, heavy frigates. When within musket-shot the _Pomone_ opened fire on the larboard bow, and the _Tenedos_ swung across the _President’s_ wake, taking a raking position on her quarter. With a breaking heart the gallant Decatur saw that there was nothing for it but surrender. One-fifth of his crew had been killed or wounded, the ship was crippled aloft and leaking badly, and he hauled down his flag. The joy of the English officers when they found who it was that had yielded to them was great, and it must be recorded that they did everything in their power to make it comfortable for the wounded, and that their treatment of the officers was courteous and kindly. For twenty-four hours after the action it fell a dead calm, and the crews of the squadron were kept occupied in repairing the crippled ships. As if to enforce the idea that the _Endymion_ had not surrendered, Decatur was placed on board of her, a cabin prisoner. [Illustration: THE “PRESIDENT” ENDEAVORING TO ESCAPE] On the 17th a tremendous gale came from the eastward, which played havoc with the late combatants, the _President’s_ masts going by the board, and the _Endymion_ losing her bowsprit, fore and main mast, and mizzen-topmast, being compelled to throw overboard all her upper-deck guns. It had been impossible for Decatur to ascertain the exact number of the killed and wounded, but he speaks of his great sorrow at the loss of three of his most trusted lieutenants--Babbit, Howell, and Hamilton, the last being the son of the late Secretary of the Navy. It was he who had had the honor of conveying the news of the capture of the _Macedonian_ to Washington, and who had appeared, as we have recorded, at the ball given by Dolly Madison wrapped in the colors of the captured ship. Decatur and his officers were given the freedom of the island of Bermuda, and crowds swarmed to visit the captured _President_ as she lay decked with British flags in the harbor. Captain Hays of the _Majestic_, to whom Decatur had surrendered his sword, returned it at once, and proved to be a friend who was worth the gaining. Upon the investigation of the action Decatur was honorably exonerated, and Alexander Murray, the President of the Court of Inquiry, expressed himself in the following words: