A writer who lived at the time of the battle said of the result of it: “We admit that the _Argus_ was taken by a British sloop-of-war whose force was not materially greater than hers. It is one of those rare accidents which sometimes occur in the course of worldly events, and which, defying all calculation, and being in direct contradiction, not only to the usual course of events, but to the ordinary effects of known and acknowledged causes, are set down by the worldly as resulting from chance; by the orthodox as the effect of a miracle. _We will not stain the memory of gallant but unsuccessful men by stating in extenuation of defeat that they were unskilful, negligent and physically inferior to their opponents._” And that is a very proper view to take of the whole matter. Even the British historian Allen says “no disgrace attached to the vanquished.” For the consolation of the American patriot, however, it is worth comparing this fight with that between the _Hornet_ and the _Peacock_. In the _Hornet-Peacock_ fight the American forces were just about as much superior to the British as was the _Pelican_ to the _Argus_, for the _Argus_ carried short twenty-fours as did the British _Peacock_. But the _Hornet_ sank the _Peacock_ in fourteen minutes, while the _Pelican_ was not able to subdue the _Argus_ until after forty-five minutes. Worse yet, although firing at the closest range, the crew of the _Pelican_ scarcely hurt the hull of the _Argus_--although she drifted practically as an idle target for almost twice fourteen minutes, the British gunners made so little impression on her hull that no writer of the time thought it worth while to tell just what they really did accomplish on her hull. And if the victories which the second American _Wasp_ won over the _Frolic_, and the third American _Wasp_ won over the British _Avon_, and the American _Peacock_ won over the British _Epervier_ be considered, it is found that they, too, outweighed the victory of the _Pelican_ as did that of the _Hornet_. But if this fails to console the extreme American patriot--the “jingo” of these days--he has only to consider the effect of this victory of the British, together with that over the _Chesapeake_, upon the British themselves. That the announcement of the victory of the _Shannon_ should have been cheered vociferously in Parliament; that the guns of London Tower should have been fired to express the national jubilation; that Broke should have been made a baronet; that the victory over the little _Argus_ should have filled the nation anew with joy--where can one find as flattering an acknowledgment of the prowess of the American Navy as all this? The people whose “maritime supremacy had become a part of the law of nations” were not now fighting either Frenchmen or Spaniards.