Captain Biddle mustered the crew, and told them that, as they might soon be captured, he hoped to perceive that propriety of conduct that had distinguished them, and that he was pleased at being their commander. But now, as if by a miracle, the _Hornet_ began to gain. The wind blew more aft, and by five the enemy’s shot fell short. Biddle had not replied even with his stern-chaser to all this cannonading, for he had noticed that the other’s firing hampered her sailing. At half-past five the crew broke out into a cheer, for the _Cornwallis_ was dropping behind, slowly, but surely. Now Biddle showed his colors, and so fast did the _Hornet_ pick up, with the wind in her favorite quarter for good going, that a few minutes after six the enemy was hull down. All night long the distance between the two increased, and at daylight the _Cornwallis_ was fifteen miles behind. At nine o’clock she shortened sail, hauled upon the wind to the eastward, and gave up, after a chase of forty-two hours. A remarkable circumstance of this affair is that, owing to the variableness of the wind, the _Hornet_ had made a perfect circle around the battle-ship. The relief occasioned to all by the escape was vented in cheering, and, extra grog being passed, the men were in extremely good temper, despite the fact of their precarious condition, for they were on the high seas with no guns, no boats, no anchors, and short of provisions. They had packed up all their things, thinking that they would soon have to go on board the enemy as prisoners, but now, joyfully, they returned them to their places. In the fine writing of the period that every person who touched pen and ink seemed prone to, the author of the journal says: “This was truly a glorious victory over the horrors of banishment and the terrors of a British floating dungeon. Quick as thought, every face was changed from the gloom of despair to the highest smile of delight, and we began once more to breathe the sweets of liberty. The bitter sighs of regret were now changed.” Biddle asked and obtained a court of inquiry to investigate the matter of his throwing overboard almost everything but the skin of his vessel, and on the 23d of August, 1815, by order of the Secretary of the Navy, court was convened on board the _Hornet_, and the following opinion was pronounced: “The court, after mature deliberation on the testimony adduced, are of opinion that no blame is imputable to Captain Biddle on account of the return of the _Hornet_ into port with the loss of her armament, stores, etc., and that the greatest applause is due to him for his persevering gallantry and nautical skill, evinced in escaping, under the most disadvantageous circumstance, after a long and arduous chase by a British line-of-battle ship.” The _Cornwallis_ fired the last gunshot of the war of 1812. Transcriber Notes Obvious punctuation and spelling errors repaired. Italic text is denoted by _underscores_.