Sixth naval victory. The U.S. brig Enterprize of 14 guns, commanded by Lieut. William Burrows, took after an engagement of 45 minutes, the British brig of war Boxer, of 18 guns, Capt. Blyth, who with about 50 of his men were killed and wounded Lieut. Burrows and one man killed and seven wounded

The author of Sixth Naval Victory took full advantage of the puns possible on the name of the British ship Boxer. While the text is a fairly straightforward defense of the navy and its mission to protect the country’s “free trade to the world,” there is a light feeling because of the humor of the puns.

Commander Martin describes the battle.

“The Enterprize-Boxer engagement on September 5, 1813, was fought with all the viciousness typical of these battles between small warships. The broadside’s preamble notwithstanding, the American had all the advantages, with eighteen guns to the Briton’s fourteen and 102 men to his 66.

“The fight opened in mid-afternoon with the two sailing parallel and less than one hundred yards apart just off Penguin Point, east of Portland, Maine. The opening blasts caught both captains: Boxer’s Captain Samuel Blyth was killed instantly when struck by an eighteen-pound ball; Lieutenant Commandant William Burrows was struck in the thigh by a canister ball that ricocheted up into his body. Blyth had nailed his colors to the mast; Burrows ordered that the colors never be struck. Active command fell to each ship’s next senior officer.

“After little more than fifteen minutes, Enterprize drew ahead, crossed Boxer’s bow, and raked her, doing enormous damage. Reversing course to cross ahead for another rake, Enterprize saw her enemy surrender. The British had three killed and seventeen wounded, four mortally. The Americans lost two killed and ten wounded, including two who died later.

“Both ships sailed to Portland, where the two captains were interred with full honors. (Ironically, Captain Blyth had been one of James Lawrence’s pallbearers in Halifax just three months earlier.) Burrows was awarded a gold medal posthumously. Three American warships have since been named for him” (Dudley, vol. 2; Roosevelt).

This broadside demonstrates the close working partnership between Joseph White and Nathaniel Coverly. Most of Coverly’s work after he moved to the Milk Street shop was printed in clean new modern type. But when he needed more hands to help take commercial advantage of late-breaking news, he evidently turned to White, loaning him woodcuts and helping with layout. It may have been a matter of type availability. In 1813, Coverly released a number of pamphlets that may have been in press when this news reached town. White repeated this text in his Naval Songster (14-15). Here he shortened the text from twelve to nine verses, replaced two words and changed the seventh verse to read

Their valor for boxing then ceased, / Acknowledg’d the battle we’d won,
Their ship being so much disabl’d / She quickly stopt firing a gun.

These changes suggest that White was copying from a different source for the songster than that used for the broadside.