As the ships approached each other their manœuvres became of great interest to seamen, but a landsman finds them hard to follow. This much, however, is plain, the _Macedonian_ came down with the wind. She could choose her own position. She might have closed with the _United States_ and brought every gun into action. Her first lieutenant wanted to do this, but her captain, either from the belief that he was fighting the _Essex_, that had short guns only, or because he was afraid the Yankee would luff up to windward of him, or both (the accounts differ), chose to hold on a course almost parallel with the _United States_, and fight at long range. Meantime, Captain Decatur had been trying to get to windward, but found the _Macedonian_ too swift and handy to permit that. So he spread his colors from every peak, and prepared to fight where he must. Soon after 9 o’clock, Captain Carden ordered three of his long guns fired at the _United States_. The balls skipped over the long waves and fell into the sea harmless. A manœuvre to close the interval between the ships followed. A broadside from the _United States_ was fired back. Most of these fell short, but one whistled over the Englishman. Some minutes of silence followed, during which the Yankees luffed and the Englishman sagged off from the wind, and then the range having been found, the gunners stripped off their shirts, and bare-headed, or with handkerchiefs tied to keep their hair from their eyes, they began to work their long batteries. For a half hour thereafter that was as hot a fight as two such frigates ever made. So swiftly did the Yankees work their guns that, not only did they envelope their ship in smoke faster than the smart wind could blow it away, but they led the Englishmen to believe that the _United States_ was actually on fire; and this word was passed along the gun-deck of the _Macedonian_ to encourage the men. They cheered at it--all but six or seven did--as they had cheered at every round of their guns. They thought they saw our ship in flame, Which made them all huzza, sir; But when the second broadside came It made them hold their jaws, sir. If the second broadside didn’t make them “hold their jaw” others did. Their cheers were a mockery, and in a rapidly increasing number of cases were turned to shrieks and groans. The Yankees, peering through the sights of their long twenty-fours, were hulling the _Macedonian_ at every round, in spite of wind and rocking waves. [Illustration: Diagram of the BATTLE BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND MACEDONIAN. THE M.-M. CO. NOTE.--The _Macedonian_ had the weather-gauge, and held it until after losing her mizzen-mast at about 10.25 A.M., when the _United States_ forged ahead, tacked about, and returned to find the _Macedonian_ with fore and main top-masts gone, and ready to surrender. ]