Combat· War of 1812
Enterprise vs HMS Boxer
A short, fierce duel off the coast of Maine that cost both ships their captains.
The brig USS Enterprise under Lieutenant William Burrows met the British brig HMS Boxer off Pemaquid Point and closed to point-blank range. In the first exchanges both commanders fell, Burrows mortally wounded and the British captain Samuel Blyth killed outright, but the Enterprise's heavier fire soon told, and the Boxer, badly cut up, surrendered. The Enterprise's Marines were in the action, and Private John Fitzmere was among the wounded. The victory was modest in scale but warmly celebrated in New England, coming so close to home. Burrows and Blyth were carried into Portland and buried side by side with full military honors, a gesture of mutual respect that became one of the more memorable images of the war at sea.
Podcast episodes on War of 1812
Record no. 226